Vail Resorts Insiders Sell US$1.1m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

Over the past year, many Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director, Hilary Schneider, for US$581k worth of shares, at about US$226 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$173). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Vail Resorts than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Vail Resorts Insiders Are Selling The Stock

There was substantially more insider selling, than buying, of Vail Resorts shares over the last three months. In that time, Independent Director John Sorte dumped US$289k worth of shares. Meanwhile Executive VP & CFO Angela Korch bought US$29k worth. Since the selling really does outweigh the buying, we'd say that these transactions may suggest that some insiders feel the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Vail Resorts insiders own 1.2% of the company, worth about US$80m. 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 Vail Resorts Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Vail Resorts, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Vail Resorts. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Vail Resorts that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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.