Trade Alert: Independent Director Of QuinStreet Stuart Huizinga Has Sold Stock

We wouldn't blame QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Stuart Huizinga, the Independent Director recently netted about US$695k selling shares at an average price of US$23.15. That sale reduced their total holding by 27% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

View our latest analysis for QuinStreet

QuinStreet Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Financial Officer, Gregory Wong, for US$781k worth of shares, at about US$18.66 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$20.31, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 19% of Gregory Wong's holding.

Insiders in QuinStreet didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership Of QuinStreet

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that QuinStreet insiders own 4.7% of the company, worth about US$54m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The QuinStreet Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold QuinStreet shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that QuinStreet has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

Of course QuinStreet 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 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.