Oxford Nanopore Technologies Insider Lowered Holding By 12% During Last Year

Looking at Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc's (LON:ONT ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Oxford Nanopore Technologies

The Co-Founder, Gurdial Sanghera, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£2.8m worth of shares at a price of UK£1.42 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is UK£1.19. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Gurdial Sanghera.

Gurdial Sanghera divested 2.06m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of UK£1.40. 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!

See our latest analysis for Oxford Nanopore Technologies

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Insiders At Oxford Nanopore Technologies Have Sold Stock Recently

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Oxford Nanopore Technologies, over the last three months. Co-Founder Gurdial Sanghera divested only UK£24k worth of shares in that time. Neither the lack of buying nor the presence of selling is heartening. But the volume sold is so low that it really doesn't bother us.

Does Oxford Nanopore Technologies 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Oxford Nanopore Technologies insiders own about UK£19m worth of shares. That equates to 1.7% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Oxford Nanopore Technologies Insiders?

While there has not been any insider buying in the last three months, there has been selling. However, the sales are not big enough to concern us at all. Recent sales exacerbate our caution arising from analysis of Oxford Nanopore Technologies insider transactions. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Oxford Nanopore Technologies. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Oxford Nanopore Technologies.

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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.