Insiders Made Right Decision To Sell As Semper Paratus Acquisition Dips 37%

Insiders seem to have made the most of their holdings by selling US$9.0m worth of Semper Paratus Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ:LGST) stock at an average sell price of US$1.00 during the past year. The company's market valuation decreased by US$40m after the stock price dropped 37% over the past week, but insiders were spared from painful losses.

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.

See our latest analysis for Semper Paratus Acquisition

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Semper Paratus Acquisition

The insider, Philippe Kurzweil, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$9.0m worth of shares at a price of US$1.00 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$4.81). 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. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was 68% of Philippe Kurzweil's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Philippe Kurzweil.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. 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: insiders have been buying them).

Does Semper Paratus Acquisition Boast High 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. Semper Paratus Acquisition insiders own about US$38m worth of shares (which is 56% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Semper Paratus Acquisition Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Semper Paratus Acquisition insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Semper Paratus Acquisition insiders selling. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Case in point: We've spotted 6 warning signs for Semper Paratus Acquisition you should be aware of, and 3 of them are significant.

Of course Semper Paratus Acquisition 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.

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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.