Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In KE Holdings

We wouldn't blame KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Tao Xu, the CFO & Executive Director recently netted about US$1.4m selling shares at an average price of US$7.18. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 23%, which is notable but not too bad.

Check out our latest analysis for KE Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At KE Holdings

In fact, the recent sale by CFO & Executive Director Tao Xu was not their only sale of KE Holdings shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$19.60 per share in a -US$5.9m sale. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$19.42. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

In total, KE Holdings insiders sold more than they bought 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!

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Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. KE Holdings insiders own 8.7% of the company, currently worth about US$2.0b based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At KE Holdings Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. 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. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of KE Holdings.

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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.