Tucows Insiders Make Handsome Sum Selling Stock At US$17.99 Per Share

While it’s been a great week for Tucows Inc. (NASDAQ:TCX) shareholders after stock gained 13%, not so much for insiders who sold stock over the past year. They could have sold their shares at much higher prices and gotten a better return on their investment if they had waited.

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 Tucows

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Director, Elliot Noss, sold US$65k worth of shares at a price of US$20.51 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$21.01). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 0.6% of Elliot Noss's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Elliot Noss.

Elliot Noss sold a total of 7.20k shares over the year at an average price of US$17.99. 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 Tucows

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Does Tucows 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 19% of Tucows shares, worth about US$45m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Tucows Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Tucows insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Still, the insider transactions at Tucows in the last 12 months are not very heartening. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example - Tucows has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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.

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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.