LeMaitre Vascular Insiders Sold US$13m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

In the last year, many LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, 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.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for LeMaitre Vascular

LeMaitre Vascular Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chairman & CEO, George LeMaitre, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$6.9m worth of shares at a price of US$70.14 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$64.45. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Insiders in LeMaitre Vascular didn't buy any shares in 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!

I will like LeMaitre Vascular better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At LeMaitre Vascular Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at LeMaitre Vascular. In total, insiders dumped US$8.3m 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

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that LeMaitre Vascular insiders own 10% of the company, worth about US$146m. 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 LeMaitre Vascular Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold LeMaitre Vascular 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, LeMaitre Vascular makes money, and is growing profits. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that LeMaitre Vascular has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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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.