This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Criteo

We'd be surprised if Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) shareholders haven't noticed that the CEO & Director, Megan Clarken, recently sold US$375k worth of stock at US$40.36 per share. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 1.8%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

View our latest analysis for Criteo

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Criteo

Notably, that recent sale by CEO & Director Megan Clarken was not the only time they sold Criteo shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$1.2m worth of shares at a price of US$32.69 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$42.34, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 7.1% of Megan Clarken's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 85.96k shares for US$849k. On the other hand they divested 257.29k shares, for US$7.4m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Criteo than they bought, over the last year. They sold for an average price of about US$28.87. We don't gain confidence from insider selling below the recent share price. Since insiders sell for many reasons, we wouldn't put too much weight on it. 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!

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Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Criteo insiders own about US$60m worth of shares. That equates to 2.6% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Criteo Tell Us?

Insiders sold Criteo shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that Criteo is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Criteo. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Criteo you should know about.

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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.