This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In AstraZeneca

We wouldn't blame AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Aradhana Sarin, the CFO & Executive Director recently netted about UK£1.1m selling shares at an average price of UK£115. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 8.0%.

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AstraZeneca Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director Pascal Claude Soriot made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£2.0m worth of shares at a price of UK£102 each. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK£120. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£2.6m for 24.98k shares. But they sold 9.56k shares for UK£1.1m. In total, AstraZeneca insiders bought more than they sold 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!

View our latest analysis for AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of AstraZeneca

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. AstraZeneca insiders own about UK£76m worth of shares (which is 0.04% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The AstraZeneca Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought AstraZeneca stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So we're happy enough to look past some selling. While it's good to be aware of 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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for AstraZeneca you should be aware of.

Of course AstraZeneca 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 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.