Walnut Capital Limited's (HKG:905) stock price has dropped 10% in the previous week, but insiders who sold HK$6.7m in stock over the past year have had less luck. Insiders might have been better off holding onto their shares, given that the average selling price of HK$1.75 is still below the current share price.
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.
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CEO & Executive Director, Bun Man Mung, sold HK$3.6m worth of shares at a price of HK$1.71 per share. 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$0.16. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Bun Man Mung.
Bun Man Mung sold a total of 3.82m shares over the year at an average price of HK$1.75. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
See our latest analysis for Walnut Capital
For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Walnut Capital insiders own 56% of the company, worth about HK$92m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Walnut Capital shares in the last quarter. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Walnut Capital insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Walnut Capital has 4 warning signs (2 are concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.