Insiders who bought Atomo Diagnostics Limited (ASX:AT1) stock in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The company's market value increased by AU$4.1m as a result of the stock's 17% gain over the same period. Put another way, the original AU$219.8k acquisition is now worth AU$403.9k.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Lin Xiaoyi bought AU$220k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.019 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of AU$0.034. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.
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!
View our latest analysis for Atomo Diagnostics
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).
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. From our data, it seems that Atomo Diagnostics insiders own 10% of the company, worth about AU$2.8m. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.
The fact that there have been no Atomo Diagnostics insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Atomo Diagnostics insiders bought more shares in the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Atomo Diagnostics. To assist with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Atomo Diagnostics.
Of course Atomo Diagnostics 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.