World Chess Up 14%, But Some Insiders Miss Out

Even though World Chess PLC (LON:CHSS) stock gained 14% last week, insiders who sold €219k worth of stock over the past year are probably better off. Selling at an average price of €0.014, which is higher than the current price, may have been the best move for these insiders because their investment would have been worth less now than when they sold.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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World Chess Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO & Director, Ilya Merenzon, for UK£193k worth of shares, at about UK£0.014 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (UK£0.004). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Ilya Merenzon.

Ilya Merenzon sold a total of 15.50m shares over the year at an average price of €0.014. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for World Chess

I will like World Chess 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 World Chess Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. World Chess insiders own about UK£2.7m worth of shares (which is 62% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The World Chess Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of World Chess insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for World Chess you should be aware of, and 3 of these are potentially serious.

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.