Possible Bearish Signals With Apogee Enterprises Insiders Disposing Stock

The fact that multiple Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

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.

See our latest analysis for Apogee Enterprises

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Apogee Enterprises

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President of Large-Scale Optical (Tru Vue), Jane Boyce, for US$688k worth of shares, at about US$47.42 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$60.26. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 25% of Jane Boyce's stake.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Apogee Enterprises 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Apogee Enterprises

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. Apogee Enterprises insiders own about US$29m worth of shares. That equates to 2.2% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Apogee Enterprises Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Apogee Enterprises shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Apogee Enterprises insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. While we like knowing 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 Apogee Enterprises has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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.