Mycronic Insiders Sell kr51m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

Over the past year, many Mycronic AB (publ) (STO:MYCR) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Mycronic

Mycronic Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chairman of the Board, Patrik Tigerschiold, sold kr44m worth of shares at a price of kr331 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (kr382). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was 57% of Patrik Tigerschiold's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 9.83k shares for kr3.7m. But insiders sold 155.46k shares worth kr51m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Mycronic 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!

I will like Mycronic better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Mycronic Have Bought Stock Recently

There has been significantly more insider buying, than selling, at Mycronic, over the last three months. In total, two insiders bought kr3.7m worth of shares in that time. But we did see insider selling worth kr2.5m. Insiders have spent more buying shares than they have selling, so on balance we think they are are probably optimistic.

Insider Ownership Of Mycronic

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Our data indicates that Mycronic insiders own about kr75m worth of shares (which is 0.2% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Do The Mycronic Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. While recent transactions indicate confidence in Mycronic, insiders don't own enough of the company to overcome our cautiousness about the longer term transactions. So they seem pretty well aligned, overall. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Mycronic.

Of course Mycronic may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.