Have Merit Medical Systems Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Fred Lampropoulos, the Founder recently netted about US$1.9m selling shares at an average price of US$96.54. However, that sale only accounted for 1.7% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Merit Medical Systems

In fact, the recent sale by Founder Fred Lampropoulos was not their only sale of Merit Medical Systems shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$104 per share in a -US$3.6m sale. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$95.03. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. 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 Merit Medical Systems 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Check out our latest analysis for Merit Medical Systems

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Does Merit Medical Systems 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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Merit Medical Systems insiders own about US$132m worth of shares (which is 2.3% of the company). 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 Merit Medical Systems Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Merit Medical Systems is growing earnings. 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. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Merit Medical Systems you should be aware of.

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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.