GSI Technology Insider Sellers Miss The Bus As Stock Jumps 20%

While it’s been a great week for GSI Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSIT) shareholders after stock gained 20%, not so much for insiders who sold stock over the past year. Had they waited, they might have been able to sell their stock at much higher prices and thereby received a better value on their investment.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for GSI Technology

GSI Technology Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Co-Founder, Robert Yau, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$88k worth of shares at a price of US$3.27 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$2.77). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Robert Yau.

Robert Yau sold a total of 54.00k shares over the year at an average price of US$3.31. 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!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does GSI Technology Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. GSI Technology insiders own about US$21m worth of shares. That equates to 30% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About GSI Technology Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded GSI Technology shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by GSI Technology insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for GSI Technology you should be aware of, and 2 of them are a bit unpleasant.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.