Insiders' US$1.26m Investments In Red Following Ventyx Biosciences' US$11m Dip In Market Value

Insiders who acquired US$1.26m worth of Ventyx Biosciences, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VTYX) stock at an average price of US$2.00 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 11% 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$762.3k.

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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Ventyx Biosciences Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Founder Raju Mohan made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$960k worth of shares at a price of US$2.01 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$1.21. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.3m for 630.00k shares. But they sold 30.14k shares for US$99k. In total, Ventyx Biosciences insiders bought more than they sold over 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!

View our latest analysis for Ventyx Biosciences

Ventyx Biosciences is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Based on our data, Ventyx Biosciences insiders have about 4.6% of the stock, worth approximately US$3.9m. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Ventyx Biosciences Tell Us?

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. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Ventyx Biosciences insiders bought more shares in the company. 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. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Ventyx Biosciences (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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.