LENZ Therapeutics Insider Buyers See Boost After Market Cap Rose US$97m

Insiders who bought LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ) stock in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The company's market value increased by US$97m as a result of the stock's 14% gain over the same period. As a result, the stock they originally bought for US$551.1k is now worth US$973.8k.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for LENZ Therapeutics

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At LENZ Therapeutics

The Co-Founder & Director James McCollum made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$501k worth of shares at a price of US$15.99 each. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$28.21. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

LENZ Therapeutics insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!

LENZ Therapeutics is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of LENZ Therapeutics

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. 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 2.8% of LENZ Therapeutics shares, worth about US$22m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At LENZ Therapeutics Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded LENZ Therapeutics shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders do have a stake in LENZ Therapeutics and their transactions don't cause us concern. 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 2 warning signs we've spotted with LENZ Therapeutics (including 1 which is significant).

Of course LENZ 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.