One Squarespace Insider Has Reduced Their Stake

Insiders were net sellers of Squarespace, Inc.'s (NYSE:SQSP ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Squarespace

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Squarespace

The Founder, Anthony Casalena, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.2m worth of shares at a price of US$30.13 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$34.36). 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 1.4% of Anthony Casalena's holding. Anthony Casalena was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Anthony Casalena ditched 137.37k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$29.08. 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!

I will like Squarespace 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 Of Squarespace

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. Squarespace insiders own about US$1.6b worth of shares (which is 34% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Squarespace Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Squarespace shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Squarespace insiders selling. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - Squarespace has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course Squarespace 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 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.