Selling Checkpoint Therapeutics Shares at a Lower Price Than Current Market Value May Have Been a Costly Mistake for Insiders

Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CKPT) value has fallen 13% in the last week, but insiders who sold US$4.6m worth of stock over the last year have had less success. The average selling price of US$3.72 is still lower than the current share price, or in other words, insiders would have been better off holding on to their shares.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Checkpoint Therapeutics

Checkpoint Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, James Oliviero, sold US$3.1m worth of shares at a price of US$3.87 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$2.78. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year Checkpoint Therapeutics insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

I will like Checkpoint Therapeutics 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.

Checkpoint Therapeutics Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Checkpoint Therapeutics shares. In total, insiders dumped US$4.5m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

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. 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 12% of Checkpoint Therapeutics shares, worth about US$17m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Checkpoint Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Checkpoint Therapeutics shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To that end, you should learn about the 6 warning signs we've spotted with Checkpoint Therapeutics (including 3 which are potentially serious).

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.