Insiders who bought stock earlier this year lose -US$94k as Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) drops to US$369m

Insiders who acquired US$249k worth of Alpha Teknova, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TKNO) stock at an average price of US$21.10 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 16% price decline. This is not good as insiders invest based on expectations that their money will appreciate over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their original investment is now worth only US$155k.

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 Alpha Teknova

Alpha Teknova Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Director Thomas Davis made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$181k worth of shares at a price of US$19.95 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$13.15 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for 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. Thomas Davis was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

Thomas Davis bought a total of 11.82k shares over the year at an average price of US$21.10. 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!

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

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 13% of Alpha Teknova shares, worth about US$47m. 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 Alpha Teknova Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Alpha Teknova and their transactions don't cause us concern. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Alpha Teknova has 3 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course Alpha Teknova 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.