Insiders who bought AU$829.7k worth of Blaze Minerals Limited (ASX:BLZ) stock in the last year have seen some of their losses recouped as the stock gained 50% last week. However, the purchase is proving to be a costly gamble, since losses made by insiders have totalled AU$427k since the time of purchase.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Managing Director & Director Mathew Walker for AU$456k worth of shares, at about AU$0.004 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.0015). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. 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. We note that Mathew Walker was both the biggest buyer and the biggest seller.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 268.75m shares worth AU$830k. On the other hand they divested 34.00m shares, for AU$136k. Overall, Blaze Minerals insiders were net buyers during the last year. The average buy price was around AU$0.0031. These transactions suggest that insiders have considered the current price attractive. 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 Blaze Minerals
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 26% of Blaze Minerals shares, worth about AU$1.1m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
The fact that there have been no Blaze Minerals insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in Blaze Minerals and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. While it's good to be aware of 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 5 warning signs with Blaze Minerals and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
Of course Blaze Minerals 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.