Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Gek Terna

We'd be surprised if Gek Terna S.A. (ATH:GEKTERNA) shareholders haven't noticed that the Executive Director, Penelope Lazaridou, recently sold €380k worth of stock at €19.00 per share. That sale was 14% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Gek Terna

The Executive Director, Emmanuel Moustakas, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for €830k worth of shares at a price of €16.60 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of €19.00, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 33% of Emmanuel Moustakas's stake.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid €1.6m for 90.00k shares. On the other hand they divested 110.00k shares, for €1.9m. In total, Gek Terna insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

See our latest analysis for Gek Terna

I will like Gek Terna better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Gek Terna Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Gek Terna insiders own about €669m worth of shares (which is 35% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Gek Terna Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Our analysis shows 5 warning signs for Gek Terna (3 are potentially serious!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

But note: Gek Terna 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 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.