Insiders At Skeena Resources Sold CA$20m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

The fact that multiple Skeena Resources Limited (TSE:SKE) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Skeena Resources

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Lead Independent Director, Craig Parry, for CA$6.8m worth of shares, at about CA$44.51 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is CA$35.52. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 128.31k shares for CA$3.1m. But they sold 530.75k shares for CA$20m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Skeena Resources shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. 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 Skeena Resources

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Skeena Resources Insiders Are Selling The Stock

There was substantially more insider selling, than buying, of Skeena Resources shares over the last three months. We note insiders cashed in CA$15m worth of shares. On the flip side, insiders spent CA$556k on purchasing shares. We don't view these transactions as a positive sign.

Insider Ownership Of Skeena Resources

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Skeena Resources insiders own 4.1% of the company, currently worth about CA$197m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Skeena Resources Insiders?

The stark truth for Skeena Resources is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Skeena Resources. Be aware that Skeena Resources is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant...

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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.