Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In ASML Holding

Some ASML Holding N.V. (AMS:ASML) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President, Christophe Fouquet, recently sold a substantial €1.3m worth of stock at a price of €718 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 19%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for ASML Holding

ASML Holding Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP, Roger J. Dassen, for €3.5m worth of shares, at about €804 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is €710. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Insiders in ASML Holding didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership Of ASML Holding

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. Insiders own 0.03% of ASML Holding shares, worth about €80m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About ASML Holding Insiders?

Insiders sold ASML Holding shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that ASML Holding has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

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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.