Trade Desk Insiders Sold US$16m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

The fact that multiple The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Trade Desk

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Trade Desk

The Independent Director, Kathryn Falberg, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$15m worth of shares at a price of US$98.17 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$124. 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was 51% of Kathryn Falberg's holding.

Insiders in Trade Desk didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Trade Desk better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Trade Desk

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Trade Desk insiders own 9.4% of the company, worth about US$5.8b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Trade Desk Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Trade Desk insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Trade Desk, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Trade Desk.

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.