Have Insiders Sold Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNTL) Shares Recently?

Some Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNTL) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President, Anthony Sun, recently sold a substantial US$1.1m worth of stock at a price of US$41.70 per share. However, that sale only accounted for 0.9% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

View our latest analysis for Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

In fact, the recent sale by Anthony Sun was the biggest sale of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$42.33. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 0.9%of Anthony Sun's holding.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 25.24k shares worth US$454k. But they sold 35.22k shares for US$1.5m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals shares, than buying. 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 like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Zentalis Pharmaceuticals insiders own 12% of the company, worth about US$200m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Tell Us?

An insider sold Zentalis Pharmaceuticals shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. 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 Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has 4 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course Zentalis Pharmaceuticals 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. 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.
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