Did Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) Insiders Sell Shares?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

Check out our latest analysis for Greenlight Capital Re

Greenlight Capital Re Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Accounting Officer & Treasurer, Faramarz Romer, sold US$184k worth of shares at a price of US$7.30 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$7.51). 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 41% of Faramarz Romer's stake. Faramarz Romer was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Greenlight Capital Re better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Greenlight Capital Re 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. Insiders own 24% of Greenlight Capital Re shares, worth about US$63m. 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 Greenlight Capital Re Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Greenlight Capital Re insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Greenlight Capital Re insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - Greenlight Capital Re has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course Greenlight Capital Re 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, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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