Insiders of Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) are probably glad they bought last year as their US$1.1m investment now stands at US$1.3m

Insiders who purchased Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) shares in the past 12 months are unlikely to be deeply impacted by the stock's 5.2% decline over the past week. Reason being, despite the recent loss, insiders original purchase value of US$1.1m is now worth US$1.3m.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chairman of the Board Gregory Maffei for US$1.1m worth of shares, at about US$22.91 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$25.70. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Tripadvisor insiders own about US$30m worth of shares. That equates to 0.8% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Tripadvisor Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Tripadvisor insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Tripadvisor. While conducting our analysis, we found that Tripadvisor has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.