Barnes & Noble Education Insiders Enjoying US$1.2m Appreciation On US$1.68m Investment

Last week, Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 11% last week, resulting in a US$40m increase in the company's market worth, implying a 71% gain on their initial purchase. In other words, the original US$1.68m purchase is now worth US$2.86m.

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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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Barnes & Noble Education

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chairman of the Board William Martin for US$922k worth of shares, at about US$7.19 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$12.18. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

Barnes & Noble Education insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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 Barnes & Noble Education

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of Barnes & Noble Education

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. Barnes & Noble Education insiders own about US$24m worth of shares. That equates to 5.7% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Barnes & Noble Education Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Barnes & Noble Education insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Barnes & Noble Education insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Barnes & Noble Education you should be aware of.

Of course Barnes & Noble Education 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.