Last week, Zeo Energy Corp.'s (NASDAQ:ZEO) stock jumped 25%, but insiders who sold US$388k worth of stock in over the past year are likely to be in a better position. Holding on to stock would have meant their investment would be worth less now than it was at the time of sale. Thus selling at an average price of US$1.51, which is higher than the current price, may have been the best decision.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
The Chief Operating Officer, Kalen Larsen, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$103k worth of shares at a price of US$1.75 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$1.17). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
Insiders in Zeo Energy didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!
See our latest analysis for Zeo Energy
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Zeo Energy shares. In total, Chief Sales Officer Brandon Bridgewater dumped US$94k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.
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. It appears that Zeo Energy insiders own 19% of the company, worth about US$13m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Zeo Energy (including 2 which are a bit concerning).
Of course Zeo Energy 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.