President & CEO Adam Steensberg Sold A Bunch Of Shares In Zealand Pharma

Some Zealand Pharma A/S (CPH:ZEAL) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President & CEO, Adam Steensberg, recently sold a substantial kr.31m worth of stock at a price of kr.878 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 51%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

Check out our latest analysis for Zealand Pharma

Zealand Pharma Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Adam Steensberg was the biggest sale of Zealand Pharma shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of kr.881, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 51% of Adam Steensberg's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Zealand Pharma shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Does Zealand Pharma Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Zealand Pharma insiders own about kr.203m worth of shares. That equates to 0.3% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Zealand Pharma Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. While it's good to be aware of 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Zealand Pharma you should be aware of.

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 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.