Trade Alert: Employee Representative Director Of Novo Nordisk Liselotte Hyveled Has Sold Stock

Some Novo Nordisk A/S (CPH:NOVO B) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Employee Representative Director, Liselotte Hyveled, recently sold a substantial kr.7.6m worth of stock at a price of kr.896 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 100%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

View our latest analysis for Novo Nordisk

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Novo Nordisk

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President, Lars Jorgensen, for kr.145m worth of shares, at about kr.821 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of kr.928. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was 66% of Lars Jorgensen's holding.

Insiders in Novo Nordisk didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Does Novo Nordisk Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Novo Nordisk insiders own about kr.144m worth of shares. That equates to 0.003% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Novo Nordisk Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Novo Nordisk stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But since Novo Nordisk is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Novo Nordisk (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.

Of course Novo Nordisk may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.