Insiders who acquired AU$123.9k worth of Ozz Resources Limited's (ASX:OZZ) stock at an average price of AU$0.041 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 14% price decline. Insiders buy with the expectation to see their investments rise in value over a period of time. However, recent losses have rendered their above investment worth AU$93.8k which is not ideal.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Jason Peterson bought AU$124k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.045 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$0.031 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Jason Peterson was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.
You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
View our latest analysis for Ozz Resources
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Ozz Resources insiders own 21% of the company, worth about AU$775k. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Ozz Resources we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. 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. When we did our research, we found 5 warning signs for Ozz Resources (4 are potentially serious!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
But note: Ozz Resources 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.