Have Diamondback Energy Insiders Been Selling Stock?

Some Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President, Matthew Van’t Hof, recently sold a substantial US$1.4m worth of stock at a price of US$143 per share. However, that sale only accounted for 8.5% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early.

Diamondback Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Lyndal Greth, sold US$2.3b worth of shares at a price of US$175 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$141). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 10.83k shares worth US$1.8m. But they sold 13.30m shares for US$2.3b. All up, insiders sold more shares in Diamondback Energy than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

View our latest analysis for Diamondback Energy

I will like Diamondback Energy better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Diamondback Energy insiders own 35% of the company, worth about US$15b. 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 Do The Diamondback Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Diamondback Energy stock, than buying, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Diamondback Energy. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Diamondback Energy (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.