Insider Sellers Might Regret Selling Aclaris Therapeutics Shares at a Lower Price Than Current Market Value

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ACRS) stock price has dropped 14% in the previous week, but insiders who sold US$797k in stock over the past year have had less luck. Given that the average selling price of US$12.53 is still lower than the current share price, insiders would probably have been better off keeping their shares.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Aclaris Therapeutics

Aclaris Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Co-Founder & Chairman, Neal Walker, sold US$510k worth of shares at a price of US$12.63 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$0.94. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 37.00k shares worth US$275k. On the other hand they divested 63.59k shares, for US$797k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Aclaris Therapeutics shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Our data suggests Aclaris Therapeutics insiders own 2.6% of the company, worth about US$1.9m. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Aclaris Therapeutics Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Aclaris Therapeutics insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. The insider transactions at Aclaris Therapeutics are not inspiring us to buy. We also note that, as far as we can see, insider ownership is fairly low, compared to other companies. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Aclaris Therapeutics you should be aware of, and 2 of them can't be ignored.

Of course Aclaris Therapeutics 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.