Swedish Orphan Biovitrum CEO & President Guido Oelkers Sells 38% Of Holding

Some Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (STO:SOBI) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO & President, Guido Oelkers, recently sold a substantial kr59m worth of stock at a price of kr293 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 38% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

View our latest analysis for Swedish Orphan Biovitrum

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Swedish Orphan Biovitrum

In fact, the recent sale by Guido Oelkers was the biggest sale of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of kr280. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid kr27m for 186.59k shares. But insiders sold 928.35k shares worth kr262m. In total, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum 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 click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Insider Ownership

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. Swedish Orphan Biovitrum insiders own about kr216m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Swedish Orphan Biovitrum Tell Us?

The stark truth for Swedish Orphan Biovitrum is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Swedish Orphan Biovitrum. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 4 warning signs with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com