Veru Insiders Miss 24% Gain After Offloading Stock

Last week, Veru Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VERU) stock jumped 24%, but insiders who sold US$334k worth of stock in over the past year are likely to be in a better position. Selling at an average price of US$1.38, which is higher than the current price, may have been the wisest decision for these insiders as their investment would have been worth less now than when they sold.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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Veru Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chairman, Mitchell Steiner, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$247k worth of shares at a price of US$1.50 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$0.64. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Mitchell Steiner.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 165.71k shares for US$106k. But they sold 242.06k shares for US$334k. Mitchell Steiner sold a total of 242.06k shares over the year at an average price of US$1.38. 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!

View our latest analysis for Veru

I will like Veru better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Veru Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Veru. Specifically, Independent Director Michael Rankowitz bought US$84k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

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 11% of Veru shares, worth about US$7.7m, according to our data. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

So What Does This Data Suggest About Veru Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. We're not thrilled with the relatively low insider ownership and the longer term transaction history. But we like the recent purchasing. While it's good to be aware of 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. For example, Veru has 4 warning signs (and 2 which are concerning) we think you should know about.

Of course Veru 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.