A HK$16m Market Cap Boost Pleasing ToST International Holdings Insiders

Last week, ST International Holdings Company Limited (HKG:8521) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 12% last week, resulting in a HK$16m increase in the company's market worth, implying a 68% gain on their initial purchase. As a result, their original purchase of HK$57.2m worth of stock is now worth HK$96.0m.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for ST International Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At ST International Holdings

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive Chairman & Compliance Officer, Kai Hung Wong, for HK$28m worth of shares, at about HK$0.10 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (HK$0.26). 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. 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 77% of Kai Hung Wong's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Kai Hung Wong.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 369.28m shares worth HK$57m. On the other hand they divested 360.00m shares, for HK$51m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by ST International Holdings insiders. Their average price was about HK$0.15. To my mind it is good that insiders have invested their own money in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

ST International Holdings is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that ST International Holdings insiders own 51% of the company, worth about HK$77m. 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 ST International Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no ST International Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like ST International Holdings insiders think the business has merit. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing ST International Holdings. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 can't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in ST International Holdings.

But note: ST International Holdings 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.