Ausgold Insiders Benefitted From Selling Stock At AU$0.90

While Ausgold Limited (ASX:AUC) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 17%, insiders can't say the same having sold stock over the past year. Had they waited, they might have been able to sell their stock at much higher prices and thereby received a better value on their investment.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ausgold

The Independent Non-Executive Director, Mark Turner, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$180k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.90 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of AU$1.17, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 40% of Mark Turner's holding. Mark Turner was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

View our latest analysis for Ausgold

I will like Ausgold better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Ausgold Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Ausgold insiders own 5.0% of the company, worth about AU$29m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Ausgold Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Ausgold insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Ausgold insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Ausgold.

But note: Ausgold may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.