NamSys Inc. (CVE:CTZ) Insiders Have Been Selling

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in NamSys Inc. (CVE:CTZ).

What Is Insider Buying?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

See our latest analysis for NamSys

NamSys Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, John Siemens, sold CA$1.2m worth of shares at a price of CA$0.95 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of CA$1.05, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 100% of John Siemens's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was John Siemens.

John Siemens sold a total of 1.63m shares over the year at an average price of CA$0.96. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like NamSys better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

NamSys Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at NamSys. In total, insider John Siemens sold CA$1.3m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Does NamSys Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that NamSys insiders own 39% of the company, worth about CA$11m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At NamSys Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought NamSys stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. To assist with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of NamSys.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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