Selling Oxford BioDynamics Shares at a Lower Price Than Current Market Value May Have Been a Costly Mistake for Insiders

Even though Oxford BioDynamics Plc (LON:OBD) has fallen by 20% over the past week , insiders who sold UK£424k worth of stock over the past year have had less luck. Given that the average selling price of UK£0.38 is still lower than the current share price, insiders would probably have been better off keeping their shares.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Oxford BioDynamics

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Oxford BioDynamics

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Non-Executive Director, Stephen Diggle, sold UK£298k worth of shares at a price of UK£0.38 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is UK£0.035. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Oxford BioDynamics than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Based on our data, Oxford BioDynamics insiders have about 3.4% of the stock, worth approximately UK£369k. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.

So What Do The Oxford BioDynamics Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Oxford BioDynamics insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Our analysis of Oxford BioDynamics insider transactions leaves us unenthusiastic. We also note that, as far as we can see, insider ownership is fairly low, compared to other companies. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 6 warning signs for Oxford BioDynamics (5 are significant!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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.