Don't Ignore The Fact That This Insider Just Sold Some Shares In Manolete Partners Plc (LON:MANO)

Some Manolete Partners Plc (LON:MANO) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO & Executive Director, Steven Cooklin, recently sold a substantial UK£1.4m worth of stock at a price of UK£1.80 per share. However, that sale only accounted for 9.6% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

Check out our latest analysis for Manolete Partners

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Manolete Partners

Notably, that recent sale by Steven Cooklin is the biggest insider sale of Manolete Partners shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of UK£1.86. 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 9.6% of Steven Cooklin's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 19.88k shares for UK£47k. On the other hand they divested 1.00m shares, for UK£1.8m. Steven Cooklin sold a total of 1.00m shares over the year at an average price of UK£1.80. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. Manolete Partners insiders own about UK£47m worth of shares (which is 58% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Manolete Partners Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Manolete Partners, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Manolete Partners makes money, and is growing profits. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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 4 warning signs for Manolete Partners (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.

But note: Manolete Partners may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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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