Insider Buyers At iHeartMedia Recover Some Losses, But Still Down US$35k

Insiders who bought US$206.0k worth of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) stock in the last year have seen some of their losses recouped as the stock gained 10% last week. The purchase, however, has proven to be a pricey bet, with losses currently totalling US$35k.

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.

See our latest analysis for iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman & CEO Robert Pittman bought US$206k worth of shares at a price of US$2.06 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$1.71 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Robert Pittman was the only individual insider to buy 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. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data indicates that iHeartMedia insiders own about US$7.0m worth of shares (which is 2.7% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Do The iHeartMedia Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if iHeartMedia insiders bought more shares in the company. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for iHeartMedia and we suggest you have a look.

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.