We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. 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 Ferrexpo plc (LON:FXPO).

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, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. 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 Ferrexpo

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ferrexpo

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Financial Officer of OJSC Ferrexpo Poltava Mining, Nikoley Kladiev, sold UK£69k worth of shares at a price of UK£3.45 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of UK£3.39. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern. Nikoley Kladiev was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 37.71k shares worth UK£72k. But they sold 20.00k shares for UK£69k. Overall, Ferrexpo insiders were net buyers during the last year. The average buy price was around UK£1.91. We don't deny that it is nice to see insiders buying stock in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders at Ferrexpo Have Sold Stock Recently

We've seen more insider selling than insider buying at Ferrexpo recently. We note Chief Financial Officer of OJSC Ferrexpo Poltava Mining Nikoley Kladiev cashed in UK£69k worth of shares. Meanwhile insiders bought UK£24k worth. Because the selling vastly outweighs the buying, we'd say this is a somewhat bearish sign.