We'd be surprised if Coelacanth Energy Inc. (CVE:CEI) shareholders haven't noticed that the Vice President of Drilling & Completions, Jody Denis, recently sold CA$207k worth of stock at CA$0.82 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 40% in their holding.
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Thomas Claugus for CA$1.4m worth of shares, at about CA$0.76 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is CA$0.81. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Coelacanth Energy insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Thomas Claugus was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.
All up, insiders sold more shares in Coelacanth Energy than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, 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 Coelacanth 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).
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. Insiders own 12% of Coelacanth Energy shares, worth about CA$54m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
The recent insider purchase is heartening. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. The more recent transactions are a positive, but Coelacanth Energy insiders haven't shown the sustained enthusiasm that we look for, although they do own a decent number of shares, overall. So they seem pretty well aligned, overall. 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Coelacanth Energy and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
But note: Coelacanth Energy 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.