Yahoo Finance Read This Before Buying Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation (TSE:AI) Shares
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation (TSE:AI).
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.'
See our latest analysis for Atrium Mortgage Investment
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Atrium Mortgage Investment
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chairman of the Board, Mark Silver, for CA$1.4m worth of shares, at about CA$13.62 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (CA$13.72). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 32.5% of Mark Silver's stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Mark Silver.
Mark Silver sold a total of 138k shares over the year at an average price of CA$13.57. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Does Atrium Mortgage Investment Boast High Insider Ownership?
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 appears that Atrium Mortgage Investment insiders own 3.8% of the company, worth about CA$21m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Atrium Mortgage Investment Tell Us?
An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. On the plus side, Atrium Mortgage Investment makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Atrium Mortgage Investment.
Of course Atrium Mortgage Investment 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, but not derivative transactions.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
