Don't Ignore The Fact That This Insider Just Sold Some Shares In BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL)

Some BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Strategy Officer & Director, Mario Spanicciati, recently sold a whopping US$19m worth of stock at a price of US$61.64 per share. That's a big dump, and it decreased their holding size by 17%, which is notable but not too bad.

Check out our latest analysis for BlackLine

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At BlackLine

In fact, the recent sale by Mario Spanicciati was the biggest sale of BlackLine shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$54.37. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

In the last year BlackLine insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Does BlackLine Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. BlackLine insiders own 14% of the company, currently worth about US$422m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About BlackLine Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought BlackLine stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that BlackLine has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

Of course BlackLine 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.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.