Trade Alert: The Independent Non-Executive Chairman Of Genus plc (LON:GNS), Iain G. Ferguson, Has Just Spent UK£73k Buying 150% More Shares

Investors who take an interest in Genus plc (LON:GNS) should definitely note that the Independent Non-Executive Chairman, Iain G. Ferguson, recently paid UK£48.51 per share to buy UK£73k worth of the stock. We reckon that's a good sign, especially since the purchase boosted their holding by 150%.

Check out our latest analysis for Genus

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Genus

The CEO & Executive Director, Stephen Wilson, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£896k worth of shares at a price of UK£41.92 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of UK£50.35. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 25% of Stephen Wilson's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Genus 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. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of Genus

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Genus insiders own about UK£11m worth of shares. That equates to 0.3% of the company. 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 Genus Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for Genus is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Genus is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Genus. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Genus.

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, 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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