CFO & Chief Administrative Officer of Oportun Financial Picks Up 5.9% More Stock

Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Jonathan Coblentz, the CFO & Chief Administrative Officer of Oportun Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:OPRT) recently shelled out US$100k to buy stock, at US$3.91 per share. Although the purchase is not a big one, increasing their shareholding by only 5.9%, it can be interpreted as a good sign.

See our latest analysis for Oportun Financial

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Oportun Financial

In fact, the recent purchase by Jonathan Coblentz was the biggest purchase of Oportun Financial shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$4.01. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 83.84k shares worth US$265k. But they sold 13.45k shares for US$33k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Oportun Financial insiders. They paid about US$3.16 on average. We don't deny that it is nice to see insiders buying stock in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Oportun Financial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Oportun Financial insiders own about US$13m worth of shares. That equates to 8.7% 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 Oportun Financial Tell Us?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Insiders likely see value in Oportun Financial shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Oportun Financial. For example - Oportun Financial has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course Oportun Financial 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.