Shareholders May Not Overlook W5 Solutions Insiders Selling kr13m In Stock

Even though W5 Solutions AB (publ) (STO:W5) stock gained 13% last week, insiders who sold kr13m worth of stock over the past year are probably better off. Holding on to stock would have meant their investment would be worth less now than it was at the time of sale. Thus selling at an average price of kr79.20, which is higher than the current price, may have been the best decision.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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W5 Solutions Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Anders Lundstrom, sold kr13m worth of shares at a price of kr79.20 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. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (kr67.60). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. Anders Lundstrom was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 10.37k shares worth kr568k. But insiders sold 163.86k shares worth kr13m. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for W5 Solutions

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Insider Ownership Of W5 Solutions

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. 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 appears that W5 Solutions insiders own 11% of the company, worth about kr114m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At W5 Solutions Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no W5 Solutions insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the W5 Solutions insiders selling. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for W5 Solutions and we suggest you have a look.

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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.