Hopeful Week For Insiders Who Bought US$1.38m Of Evolent Health Stock

Insiders who purchased US$1.38m worth of Evolent Health, Inc. (NYSE:EVH) shares over the past year recouped some of their losses after price gained 10% last week. However, the purchase is proving to be an expensive wager as insiders are yet to get ahead of their losses which currently stand at US$709k since the time of purchase.

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.

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Evolent Health Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Co-Founder Seth Blackley made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$498k worth of shares at a price of US$9.01 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$4.27). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Evolent Health insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Evolent Health

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Evolent Health Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Evolent Health over the last quarter. Independent Director Brendan Springstubb purchased US$38k worth of shares in that period. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.

Does Evolent Health Boast High 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. From our data, it seems that Evolent Health insiders own 1.8% of the company, worth about US$8.1m. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

So What Do The Evolent Health Insider Transactions Indicate?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Evolent Health stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Evolent Health. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Evolent Health 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 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.