The Executive Chairman of Open Orphan plc (LON:ORPH), Cathal Friel, Just Bought 2.5% More Shares

Potential Open Orphan plc (LON:ORPH) shareholders may wish to note that the Executive Chairman, Cathal Friel, recently bought UK£300k worth of stock, paying UK£0.27 for each share. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 2.5%.

Check out our latest analysis for Open Orphan

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Open Orphan

In fact, the recent purchase by Cathal Friel was the biggest purchase of Open Orphan shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£0.25). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Open Orphan insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Open Orphan is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does Open Orphan Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 13% of Open Orphan 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 Does This Data Suggest About Open Orphan Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Open Orphan we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Open Orphan and we suggest you have a look.

Of course Open Orphan 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. 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.
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