Have Vestum Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We'd be surprised if Vestum AB (publ) (STO:VESTUM) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Per-Arne Ahlgren, recently sold kr4.4m worth of stock at kr11.71 per share. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 1.6%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

Check out our latest analysis for Vestum

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Vestum

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Founder & Chairman Conny Ryk for kr19m worth of shares, at about kr9.30 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of kr11.70. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 4.78m shares worth kr41m. On the other hand they divested 379.65k shares, for kr4.4m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Vestum insiders. 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!

Vestum is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Vestum

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Vestum insiders own 47% of the company, currently worth about kr2.0b based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Vestum Tell Us?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. We are also comforted by the high levels of insider ownership. So the recent selling doesn't worry us. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. While conducting our analysis, we found that Vestum has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.