Insiders Who Purchased US$661.5k Of Ouster Stock May Not Have Expected 13% Tumble

Insiders who bought US$661.5k worth of Ouster, Inc.'s (NYSE:OUST) stock at an average buy price of US$10.67 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 13% decrease in the stock. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$563.0k, which is not what they expected.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Ouster

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ouster

The Co-Founder Charles Pacala made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$197k worth of shares at a price of US$12.33 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$9.08. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 62.00k shares worth US$662k. On the other hand they divested 50.98k shares, for US$412k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Ouster insiders. They paid about US$10.67 on average. These transactions suggest that insiders have considered the current price attractive. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Ouster is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Have Ouster Insiders Traded Recently?

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Ouster, over the last three months. Insiders sold just US$6.7k worth of shares in that time. 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 Ouster Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Ouster insiders own about US$23m worth of shares. That equates to 5.2% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Ouster Tell Us?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. But given the selling was modest, we're not worried. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Ouster insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 3 warning signs for Ouster that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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.