Yahoo Finance Read This Before Selling Altura Energy Inc. (CVE:ATU) 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 before you buy or sell Altura Energy Inc. (CVE:ATU), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Selling?
It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.
View our latest analysis for Altura Energy
Altura Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director John Chambers bought CA$200k worth of shares at a price of CA$0.40 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$0.35). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 547k shares for a total of CA$218k. Altura Energy insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!
Altura Energy is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Insider Ownership of Altura Energy
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 10% of Altura Energy shares, worth about CA$4.0m, according to our data. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Altura Energy Insiders?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Altura Energy insiders are doubting the company. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Altura Energy, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Of course Altura Energy 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.
