Laureate Education Insiders Sell US$809k Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

A number of Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) insiders sold their shares in the last year, which may have raised concerns among investors. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, 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, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

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Laureate Education Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director, Pedro del Corro Garcia Lomas, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$490k worth of shares at a price of US$19.58 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$20.86, 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 47% of Pedro del Corro Garcia Lomas's stake.

In the last year Laureate Education insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

View our latest analysis for Laureate Education

I will like Laureate Education better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 1.3% of Laureate Education shares, worth about US$40m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Laureate Education Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Laureate Education shares in the last quarter. Our analysis of Laureate Education insider transactions leaves us cautious. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Laureate Education, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company .

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.