Peel Hunt's Market Cap Drops To UK£104m Leaving Insiders With Losses

Insiders who bought UK£563k worth of Peel Hunt Limited's (LON:PEEL) stock at an average buy price of UK£1.05 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 14% decrease in the stock. This is not good as insiders invest based on expectations that their money will appreciate over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their original investment is now worth only UK£455k.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Peel Hunt

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Peel Hunt

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chief Financial & Operating Officer Sunil Dhall bought UK£563k worth of shares at a price of UK£1.05 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£0.85). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Sunil Dhall was the only individual insider to buy during the last year. We note that Sunil Dhall was both the biggest buyer and the biggest seller.

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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Peel Hunt Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 20% of Peel Hunt shares, worth about UK£21m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Peel Hunt Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Peel Hunt shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in Peel Hunt and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Peel Hunt.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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 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.