With Zevra Therapeutics Up 11%, Insider Buyers Count Their Returns

Insiders who bought Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA) stock in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The company's market value increased by US$51m as a result of the stock's 11% gain over the same period. In other words, the original US$226.2k purchase is now worth US$319.5k.

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.

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Zevra Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director John Bode made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$80k worth of shares at a price of US$7.96 each. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$9.74. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

While Zevra Therapeutics insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. Their average price was about US$6.90. To my mind it is good that insiders have invested their own money in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. 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!

See our latest analysis for Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Based on our data, Zevra Therapeutics insiders have about 0.8% of the stock, worth approximately US$4.2m. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Zevra Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Zevra Therapeutics insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Zevra Therapeutics insiders are doubting the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Zevra Therapeutics. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Zevra Therapeutics and we suggest you have a look.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.