Insiders At Merit Medical Systems Sold US$4.4m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

In the last year, many Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Founder, Fred Lampropoulos, for US$1.7m worth of shares, at about US$68.43 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$67.33. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In the last year Merit Medical Systems insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Merit Medical Systems insiders own about US$89m worth of shares. That equates to 2.3% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Merit Medical Systems Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Merit Medical Systems insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Our analysis of Merit Medical Systems insider transactions leaves us cautious. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Merit Medical Systems.

Of course Merit Medical Systems 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.