As Ironveld Plc (LON:IRON) gains 16%, insiders who bought last year may be wishing they had bet higher

Ironveld Plc (LON:IRON) insiders who purchased shares in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The stock climbed by 16% resulting in a UK£2.0m addition to the company’s market value. As a result, the stock they originally bought for UK£158k is now worth UK£195k.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Ironveld

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ironveld

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Director John Wardle for UK£157k worth of shares, at about UK£0.0031 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of UK£0.0039. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

While Ironveld insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. 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!

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).

Ironveld Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Ironveld. Specifically, Non-Executive Director John Wardle bought UK£157k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

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. It appears that Ironveld insiders own 22% of the company, worth about UK£3.1m. 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 Ironveld Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Insiders likely see value in Ironveld shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Ironveld has 6 warning signs (4 are potentially serious!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course Ironveld 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.