Independent Non-Executive Director Of Prosus Sold 33% Of Their Shares

We wouldn't blame Prosus N.V. (AMS:PRX) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Stephan Joseph Pacak, the Independent Non-Executive Director recently netted about €20m selling shares at an average price of €39.82. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 33%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for Prosus

Prosus Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Non-independent Non-Executive Chair, Jacobus Petrus Bekker, sold €157m worth of shares at a price of €40.41 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of €43.03, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 20% of Jacobus Petrus Bekker's holding.

In total, Prosus 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. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership Of Prosus

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that Prosus insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about €873m. 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 Prosus Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Prosus and we suggest you have a look.

But note: Prosus 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.