Duality Biotherapeutics Insiders Sold CN¥89m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy
Many Duality Biotherapeutics, Inc. (HKG:9606) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. 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, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
Duality Biotherapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The CFO, VP of Finance & Executive Director, Shaoren Zhang, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$54m worth of shares at a price of HK$358 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is HK$223. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.
In total, Duality Biotherapeutics insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The average sell price was around CN¥356. Insider selling doesn't make us excited to buy. However, we do note that the average sale price was significantly higher than the current share price (which is HK$223). 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 Duality Biotherapeutics
For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Duality Biotherapeutics Insiders Bought Stock Recently
It's good to see that Duality Biotherapeutics insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. CEO & Chairman Zhongyuan Zhu spent HK$10m on stock, and there wasn't any selling. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.
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. Duality Biotherapeutics insiders own 13% of the company, currently worth about HK$2.6b based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Duality Biotherapeutics Insiders?
It is good to see the recent insider purchase. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. Overall, we'd prefer see a more sustained buying from directors, but with a significant insider holding and more recent purchases, Duality Biotherapeutics insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Duality Biotherapeutics and we suggest you have a look.
But note: Duality Biotherapeutics 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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