How Many Stavely Minerals Limited (ASX:SVY) Shares Did Insiders Buy, In The Last Year?

Simply Wall St

Wed, May 20, 2020, 8:18 PM 4 min read

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Stavely Minerals Limited (ASX:SVY).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. 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 equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. 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 Stavely Minerals

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Stavely Minerals

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Technical Director & Executive Director Jennifer Murphy for AU$509k worth of shares, at about AU$1.27 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$0.46 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 700.00k shares worth AU$631k. But they sold 700000 shares for AU$260k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Stavely Minerals insiders. They paid about AU$0.90 on average. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!

ASX:SVY Recent Insider Trading May 20th 2020

Stavely Minerals is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insiders at Stavely Minerals Have Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Stavely Minerals insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Specifically, Executive Chairman & MD Christopher Cairns bought AU$122k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Stavely Minerals insiders own about AU$25m worth of shares. That equates to 29% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Stavely Minerals Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Stavely Minerals we think they are probably pretty confident of 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 5 warning signs (2 make us uncomfortable!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Stavely Minerals.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.

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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. Thank you for reading.