Independent Director Mark Alvino Sold A Bunch Of Shares In Abeona Therapeutics

We'd be surprised if Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ABEO) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Mark Alvino, recently sold US$117k worth of stock at US$4.51 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 41% in their holding.

See our latest analysis for Abeona Therapeutics

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Abeona Therapeutics

Notably, that recent sale by Mark Alvino is the biggest insider sale of Abeona Therapeutics shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$4.58, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 41% of Mark Alvino's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 88.76k shares for US$346k. But they sold 92.85k shares for US$411k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Abeona Therapeutics than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$4.43. It's not too encouraging to see that insiders have sold at below the current price. Of course, the sales could be motivated for a multitude of reasons, so we shouldn't jump to conclusions. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership Of Abeona Therapeutics

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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. Insiders own 3.2% of Abeona Therapeutics shares, worth about US$6.0m, according to our data. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Abeona Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Abeona Therapeutics stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. When you combine this with the relatively low insider ownership, we are very cautious about the stock. So we'd only buy after very 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. To help with this, we've discovered 6 warning signs (3 can't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Abeona Therapeutics.

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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.

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