Shareholders Can't Ignore US$128m Of Sales By Symbotic Insiders

Even though Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM) stock gained 40% last week, insiders who sold US$128m 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 US$38.76, which is higher than the current price, may have been the best decision.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Symbotic

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Symbotic

The Chairman of the Board & CEO, Richard Cohen, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$108m worth of shares at a price of US$39.69 each. 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 (US$24.96). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Symbotic didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insiders At Symbotic Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Symbotic. In total, Independent Director Todd Krasnow sold US$473k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Symbotic insiders own about US$11m worth of shares. That equates to 0.08% of the company. 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 Do The Symbotic Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Symbotic stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Symbotic. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Symbotic that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course Symbotic 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.