Insider Buying: The Micro Focus International plc (LON:MCRO) Just Bought US$1.5m Worth Of Shares

Those following along with Micro Focus International plc (LON:MCRO) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by insider Gregory Lock, who spent a stonking UK£1.5m on stock at an average price of UK£7.88. That increased their holding by a full 1174%, which arguably implies the sort of confidence required for a shy sweet-natured nerd to ask the most popular kid in the school to go out on a date.

Check out our latest analysis for Micro Focus International

Micro Focus International Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive Chairman, Kevin Loosemore, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£12m worth of shares at a price of UK£18.52 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of UK£7.72. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£2.0m for 251.02k shares. But insiders sold 652322.88 shares worth UK£12m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Micro Focus International shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!

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

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.5% of Micro Focus International shares, worth about UK£12m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Micro Focus International Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. But we can't say the same for the transactions over the last 12 months. We don't take much heart from transactions by Micro Focus International insiders over the last year. But they own a reasonable amount of the company, and there was some buying recently. In short they are likely aligned with shareholders. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Micro Focus International.

But note: Micro Focus International may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

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