Numerous Michael Page Insiders Sold Stock: Not A Positive Omen

Quite a few Michael Page Plc (LON:PAGE) insiders sold their shares over the past year, which may be a cause for concern. 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, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Michael Page

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Senior Independent Non-Executive Director John Stevens bought UK£100k worth of shares at a price of UK£1.40 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK£2.06. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Michael Page shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

See our latest analysis for Michael Page

I will like Michael Page 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.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From looking at our data, insiders own UK£1.9m worth of Michael Page stock, about 0.3% of the company. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Michael Page Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Michael Page shares in the last quarter. The insider transactions at Michael Page are not inspiring us to buy. We also note that, as far as we can see, insider ownership is fairly low, compared to other companies. 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Michael Page that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course Michael Page 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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