Insiders Could Have Profited By Holding onto Quick Heal Technologies Shares Despite 11% Drop

Quick Heal Technologies Limited's (NSE:QUICKHEAL) stock price has dropped 11% in the previous week, but insiders who sold ₹2.9b in stock over the past year have had less luck. Insiders might have been better off holding onto their shares, given that the average selling price of ₹491 is still below the current share price.

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 Quick Heal Technologies

Quick Heal Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chief of Operational Excellence Anupama Katkar for ₹2.8b worth of shares, at about ₹489 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than ₹357 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Anupama Katkar was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Quick Heal Technologies than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insiders At Quick Heal Technologies Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Quick Heal Technologies shares. In total, insiders dumped ₹9.3m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Quick Heal Technologies Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Quick Heal Technologies insiders own 75% of the company, worth about ₹14b. 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 Quick Heal Technologies Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Quick Heal Technologies stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. But since Quick Heal Technologies is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. When we did our research, we found 4 warning signs for Quick Heal Technologies (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

But note: Quick Heal Technologies 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.