Have OmniAb Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We'd be surprised if OmniAb, Inc. (NASDAQ:OABI) shareholders haven't noticed that the President, Matthew Foehr, recently sold US$135k worth of stock at US$3.24 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 1.1% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

See our latest analysis for OmniAb

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At OmniAb

In fact, the recent sale by President Matthew Foehr was not their only trade of OmniAb shares this year. They previously purchased US$1.2m worth of shares at a price of US$5.19 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$3.20 (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. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Matthew Foehr. Notably Matthew Foehr was also the biggest seller.

Matthew Foehr bought a total of 465.00k shares over the year at an average price of US$4.79. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 5.4% of OmniAb shares, worth about US$21m. 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 OmniAb Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought OmniAb stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. But we take heart from prior transactions. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For example - OmniAb has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

But note: OmniAb may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.