Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Corning

Some Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President & COO, Eric Musser, recently sold a substantial US$1.0m worth of stock at a price of US$51.11 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 9.8%.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Corning

The Chairman & CEO, Wendell Weeks, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$5.0m worth of shares at a price of US$50.11 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$50.45). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent 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. This single sale was just 11% of Wendell Weeks's stake.

Corning insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and 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!

See our latest analysis for Corning

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Does Corning 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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that Corning insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$137m. 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 Corning Tell Us?

Insiders sold Corning shares recently, but they didn't buy any. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Corning you should be aware of.

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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.