Insider Sellers Might Regret Selling Intellia Therapeutics Shares at a Lower Price Than Current Market Value

Even though Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTLA) has fallen by 16% over the past week , insiders who sold US$975k worth of stock over the past year have had less luck. Insiders would probably have been better off holding on to their shares given that the average selling price of US$13.25 is still lower than the current share price.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Intellia Therapeutics

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Intellia Therapeutics

In fact, the recent sale by John Leonard was the biggest sale of Intellia Therapeutics shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$10.20. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Insiders in Intellia Therapeutics didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insiders At Intellia Therapeutics Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Intellia Therapeutics. In total, insiders sold US$831k 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

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.5% of Intellia Therapeutics shares, worth about US$18m. 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 Intellia Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Intellia 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 4 warning signs for Intellia Therapeutics and we suggest you have a look.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.