Piper Sandler Companies Insiders Sell US$9.5m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

The fact that multiple Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. 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, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

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.

See our latest analysis for Piper Sandler Companies

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Piper Sandler Companies

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Senior Managing Principal, Jonathan Doyle, sold US$3.4m worth of shares at a price of US$338 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$280. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Piper Sandler Companies insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Piper Sandler Companies Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Piper Sandler Companies shares. Specifically, Independent Director Sherry Smith ditched US$758k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that 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. Piper Sandler Companies insiders own 3.1% of the company, currently worth about US$144m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Piper Sandler Companies Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Piper Sandler Companies shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. On the plus side, Piper Sandler Companies makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Piper Sandler Companies. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Piper Sandler Companies and we suggest you have a look.

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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.