Chief People Officer Paul Jones Sold A Bunch Of Shares In USANA Health Sciences

Anyone interested in USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE:USNA) should probably be aware that the Chief People Officer, Paul Jones, recently divested US$240k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$38.38 each. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 100% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

View our latest analysis for USANA Health Sciences

USANA Health Sciences Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Myron Wentz, for US$713k worth of shares, at about US$47.79 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$39.51. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

In the last year USANA Health Sciences insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

I will like USANA Health Sciences better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of USANA Health Sciences

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that USANA Health Sciences insiders own 42% of the company, worth about US$312m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About USANA Health Sciences Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for USANA Health Sciences (1 is potentially serious!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.