Have Insiders Sold Perdoceo Education Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame Perdoceo Education Corporation (NASDAQ:PRDO) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Todd Nelson, the President recently netted about US$835k selling shares at an average price of US$17.40. That sale reduced their total holding by 16% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Perdoceo Education

In fact, the recent sale by Todd Nelson was the biggest sale of Perdoceo Education shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$17.92, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 16% of Todd Nelson's stake.

Perdoceo Education insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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!

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Does Perdoceo Education Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company 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 Perdoceo Education insiders own 1.5% of the company, worth about US$17m. 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 Perdoceo Education Insiders?

An insider sold Perdoceo Education shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Perdoceo Education is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Perdoceo Education and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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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.