While it’s been a great week for Lexeo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXEO) shareholders after stock gained 11%, not so much for insiders who sold stock over the past year. The return on their investment would have been much higher had they held on to their stock.
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.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Lexeo Therapeutics
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO & Director, R. Townsend, for US$117k worth of shares, at about US$9.56 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$9.48. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).
Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Lexeo Therapeutics shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
View our latest analysis for Lexeo Therapeutics
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).
Lexeo Therapeutics Insiders Are Selling The Stock
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Lexeo Therapeutics. In total, insiders dumped US$233k 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.
Does Lexeo Therapeutics Boast High Insider Ownership?
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data suggests Lexeo Therapeutics insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$1.8m. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Lexeo Therapeutics Insiders?
Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. When you consider that most companies have higher levels of insider ownership, we're a little wary. So we're not rushing to buy, to say the least. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Our analysis shows 5 warning signs for Lexeo Therapeutics (2 can't be ignored!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.
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.