Planet Labs PBC Insiders Still US$63k Away From Original Investment Value

Insiders who purchased US$269.8k worth of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares over the past year recouped some of their losses after price gained 16% last week. The purchase, however, has proven to be a pricey bet, with losses currently totalling US$63k.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Co-Founder William Marshall made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$270k worth of shares at a price of US$2.70 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$2.07 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was William Marshall.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Does Planet Labs PBC Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. It appears that Planet Labs PBC insiders own 9.1% of the company, worth about US$55m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Planet Labs PBC Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Planet Labs PBC insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders do have a stake in Planet Labs PBC and their transactions don't cause us concern. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Planet Labs PBC and we suggest you have a look.

But note: Planet Labs PBC 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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