Insiders At Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Sold US$2.2m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

The fact that multiple Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Financial Officer, Kenneth Myszkowski, sold US$1.4m worth of shares at a price of US$35.19 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$28.78). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals than they bought, over the last year. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Does Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals insiders own 3.9% of the company, worth about US$141m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals you should know about.

Of course Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals 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.

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