Insider Stock Buyers At Kineta Recouped Some Losses This Week

Insiders who purchased US$487.3k worth of Kineta, Inc. (NASDAQ:KA) shares over the past year recouped some of their losses after price gained 13% last week. However, total losses seen by insiders are still US$217k since the time of purchase.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Kineta

Kineta Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director Marion Foote bought US$250k worth of shares at a price of US$11.55 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$3.50 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 77.30k shares worth US$487k. But insiders sold 6.11k shares worth US$26k. Overall, Kineta insiders were net buyers during the last year. Their average price was about US$6.30. These transactions suggest that insiders have considered the current price attractive. 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!

Kineta is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insiders At Kineta Have Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Kineta insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. In total, insiders bought US$79k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

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. It appears that Kineta insiders own 25% of the company, worth about US$8.4m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Kineta Insiders?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Kineta insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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 4 warning signs for Kineta you should be aware of, and 2 of these are potentially serious.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.