Insiders At BioMarin Pharmaceutical Sold US$3.6m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Over the past year, many BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. 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.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for BioMarin Pharmaceutical

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Advisor, Henry Fuchs, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$3.0m worth of shares at a price of US$85.18 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$64.34. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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!

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

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at BioMarin Pharmaceutical. In total, Executive VP & CTO C. Guyer dumped US$350k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. BioMarin Pharmaceutical insiders own about US$95m worth of shares. That equates to 0.8% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At BioMarin Pharmaceutical Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought BioMarin Pharmaceutical stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But since BioMarin Pharmaceutical is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

Of course BioMarin Pharmaceutical 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.