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Investors who take an interest in Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) should definitely note that the VP & CFO, Michael Feehan, recently paid US$6.28 per share to buy US$101k worth of the stock. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 4.6%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.
View our latest analysis for Ecovyst
Ecovyst Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Susan Ward, sold US$251k worth of shares at a price of US$10.28 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$6.56. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Susan Ward.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 41.71k shares worth US$291k. On the other hand they divested 24.44k shares, for US$251k. In total, Ecovyst insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The average buy price was around US$6.98. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insider Ownership
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 2.9% of Ecovyst shares, worth about US$22m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Ecovyst Insiders?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Ecovyst insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Ecovyst and understanding this should be part of your investment process.