It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell GOME Retail Holdings Limited (HKG:493), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
Do Insider Transactions Matter?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, ‘insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.
Check out our latest analysis for GOME Retail Holdings
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At GOME Retail Holdings
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Non-Executive Director, Xiu Hong Huang, for HK$122m worth of shares, at about HK$0.74 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (HK$1.19). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was 100% of Xiu Hong Huang’s holding. Xiu Hong Huang was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.
The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
I will like GOME Retail Holdings better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Does GOME Retail Holdings 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. GOME Retail Holdings insiders own 54% of the company, currently worth about HK$11b based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About GOME Retail Holdings Insiders?
There haven’t been any insider transactions in the last three months — that doesn’t mean much. It’s heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we’d like to see more insider buying, since the last year of GOME Retail Holdings insider transactions don’t fill us with confidence. So while it’s helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it’s also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To assist with this, we’ve discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of GOME Retail Holdings.
If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.
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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. Thank you for reading.