Andrew Meslow Bought 115% More Shares In Vera Bradley

Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRA) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Lead Independent Director, Andrew Meslow, recently bought a whopping US$590k worth of stock, at a price of US$1.97. That purchase boosted their holding by 115%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Vera Bradley

Notably, that recent purchase by Andrew Meslow is the biggest insider purchase of Vera Bradley shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$2.19. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Vera Bradley insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months Vera Bradley insiders were buying shares, but not selling. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Vera Bradley

Vera Bradley is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Vera Bradley insiders own about US$18m worth of shares. That equates to 30% of the company. 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 Vera Bradley Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Vera Bradley insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Vera Bradley. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Vera Bradley has 3 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course Vera Bradley 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.