Insiders Who Sold Talkspace Made The Right Call As Market Cap Slides By US$57m

By selling US$254k worth of Talkspace, Inc. (NASDAQ:TALK) stock at an average sell price of US$2.70 over the last year, insiders seemed to have made the most of their holdings. After the stock price dropped 10% last week, the company's market value declined by US$57m, but insiders were able to mitigate their losses.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Talkspace

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Talkspace

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Marketing Officer, Katelyn Watson, sold US$254k worth of shares at a price of US$2.70 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$3.00. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower 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 68% of Katelyn Watson's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Talkspace shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Are Talkspace Insiders Buying Or Selling?

In the last three months company Chief Technology Officer Gil Margolin divested US$186 worth of stock. That is not a lot. The net selling is so small that it's hard to draw any conclusions from these recent transactions.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 4.6% of Talkspace shares, worth about US$23m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Talkspace Tell Us?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. But given the selling was modest, we're not worried. We're a little cautious about the insider selling at Talkspace. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Talkspace, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.