Possible Bearish Signals With Adtalem Global Education Insiders Disposing Stock

Over the past year, many Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. 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, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

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

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Adtalem Global Education

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Director, Lisa Wardell, sold US$4.8m worth of shares at a price of US$71.51 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$129, 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was 55% of Lisa Wardell's stake.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Adtalem Global Education than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Adtalem Global Education

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Adtalem Global Education Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider selling at Adtalem Global Education. US$127k worth of shares were sold by VP & Chief Accounting Officer Manjunath Gangadharan. But US$87k was spent on buying, too, (as we mentioned above) . While it's not great to see insider selling, the net amount sold isn't enough for us to want to read anything into it.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Adtalem Global Education insiders own about US$79m worth of shares. That equates to 1.7% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Adtalem Global Education Tell Us?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. Recent sales exacerbate our caution arising from analysis of Adtalem Global Education insider transactions. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Adtalem Global Education, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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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.