Alto Neuroscience's Market Cap Drops To US$358m Leaving Insiders With Losses

Insiders who bought US$638.5k worth of Alto Neuroscience, Inc.'s (NYSE:ANRO) stock at an average buy price of US$14.90 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 13% decrease in the stock. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$509.3k, which is not what they expected.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Alto Neuroscience

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Alto Neuroscience

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chief Medical Officer Adam Savitz for US$272k worth of shares, at about US$16.00 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$11.89. 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. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months Alto Neuroscience insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Alto Neuroscience is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Alto Neuroscience Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Alto Neuroscience insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Chief Medical Officer Adam Savitz spent US$191k on stock, and there wasn't any selling. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership Of Alto Neuroscience

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 8.3% of Alto Neuroscience shares, worth about US$30m. 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 Alto Neuroscience Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Alto Neuroscience we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Alto Neuroscience has 4 warning signs (2 shouldn't be ignored!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course Alto Neuroscience 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.