Those following along with Pathfinder Minerals Plc (LON:PFP) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Peter Taylor, CEO & Director of the company, who spent a stonking UK£2.4m on stock at an average price of UK£0.74. That increased their holding by a full 80%, which arguably implies the sort of confidence required for a shy sweet-natured nerd to ask the most popular kid in the school to go out on a date.

Check out our latest analysis for Pathfinder Minerals

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Pathfinder Minerals

Notably, that recent purchase by Peter Taylor is the biggest insider purchase of Pathfinder Minerals shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of UK£0.0088. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares is very important. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Peter Taylor.

Peter Taylor purchased 7.20m shares over the year. The average price per share was UK£0.33. 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!

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).

Insider Ownership of Pathfinder Minerals

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data indicates that Pathfinder Minerals insiders own about UK£302k worth of shares (which is 9.6% of the company). But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Do The Pathfinder Minerals Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that Pathfinder Minerals insiders are expecting a bright future. While we like knowing 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. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 is potentially serious!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Pathfinder Minerals.

But note: Pathfinder Minerals 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, but not derivative transactions.

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. 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.

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