Have Insiders Sold Rocket Lab USA Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Jon A. Olson, the Independent Director recently netted about US$1.0m selling shares at an average price of US$20.69. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 11%, which is notable but not too bad.

See our latest analysis for Rocket Lab USA

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Rocket Lab USA

Notably, that recent sale by Jon A. Olson is the biggest insider sale of Rocket Lab USA shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$23.26, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 11% of Jon A. Olson's holding.

Insiders in Rocket Lab USA didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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

Insider Ownership Of Rocket Lab USA

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Rocket Lab USA insiders own 0.4% of the company, worth about US$52m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Rocket Lab USA Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Rocket Lab USA has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

But note: Rocket Lab USA may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.