YouGov Insiders Sold UK£4.2m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

In the last year, many YouGov plc (LON:YOU) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for YouGov

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At YouGov

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Co-Founder & Non-Executive Chair, Stephan Shakespeare, for UK£4.1m worth of shares, at about UK£11.80 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (UK£8.54). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 5.37k shares for UK£54k. On the other hand they divested 359.95k shares, for UK£4.2m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of YouGov shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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YouGov Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at YouGov. In total, CFO & Executive Director Alexander McIntosh sold UK£40k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that YouGov insiders own 1.7% of the company, worth about UK£16m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At YouGov Tell Us?

While there has not been any insider buying in the last three months, there has been selling. But given the selling was modest, we're not worried. We're a little cautious about the insider selling at YouGov. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. While we like knowing 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. For example - YouGov has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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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.