Shopify Insider Ups Holding By 81% During Year

Looking at Shopify Inc.'s (NYSE:SHOP ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net buyers. That is, there were more number of shares purchased by insiders than there were sold.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Shopify

Shopify Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Founder Tobias Lütke for US$10.0m worth of shares, at about US$35.34 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$54.57. 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.

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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Shopify Insiders Are Selling The Stock

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Shopify, over the last three months. President Harley Finkelstein only netted US$12k selling shares, in that period. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the amount sold isn't enough for us to put any weight on it.

Does Shopify Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Shopify insiders own about US$4.4b worth of shares (which is 6.3% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Shopify Tell Us?

While there has not been any insider buying in the last three months, there has been selling. However, the sales are not big enough to concern us at all. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Shopify insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Shopify, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.