Insiders In Talkspace Left Out From 14% Price Rise After Disposing Stock

Talkspace, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TALK) stock rose 14% last week, but insiders who sold US$254k worth of stock over the last year are probably in a more advantageous position. Holding on to stock would have meant their investment would be worth less now than it was at the time of sale. Thus selling at an average price of US$2.70, which is higher than the current price, may have been the best decision.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Talkspace

Talkspace Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chief Marketing Officer, Katelyn Watson, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$254k worth of shares at a price of US$2.70 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$2.10. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Katelyn Watson was the only individual insider to sell 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!

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

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Talkspace insiders own about US$11m worth of shares. That equates to 3.3% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Talkspace Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Talkspace shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at Talkspace in the last 12 months are not very heartening. 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 Talkspace.

Of course Talkspace 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.