The Chairman of Telos Corporation (NASDAQ:TLS), John Wood, Just Bought 2.2% More Shares

Those following along with Telos Corporation (NASDAQ:TLS) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by John Wood, Chairman of the company, who spent a stonking US$1.8m on stock at an average price of US$18.14. While that only increased their holding size by 2.2%, it is still a big swing by our standards.

View our latest analysis for Telos

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Telos

In fact, the recent purchase by Chairman John Wood was not their only trade of Telos shares this year. They previously made a sale of -US$37m worth of shares at a price of US$33.00 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$16.89). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Telos shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Telos better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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. Telos insiders own 11% of the company, currently worth about US$126m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Telos Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. The high levels of insider ownership, and the recent buying by an insider suggests they are well aligned and optimistic. 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 3 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Telos.

Of course Telos 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.

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.

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