Have Insiders Sold PetIQ, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETQ) Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame PetIQ, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETQ) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Ronald Kennedy, the Independent Director recently netted about US$844k selling shares at an average price of US$34.77. That sale reduced their total holding by 16% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

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PetIQ Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Ronald Kennedy was the biggest sale of PetIQ shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$36.02. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 16%of Ronald Kennedy's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in PetIQ 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 click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does PetIQ Boast High 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. Insiders own 1.0% of PetIQ shares, worth about US$11m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About PetIQ Insiders?

An insider sold PetIQ shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for PetIQ (1 can't be ignored) you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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, but not derivative transactions.

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