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Over the past year, many Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
Monster Beverage Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Director, Mark Hall, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$13m worth of shares at a price of US$52.22 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$58.67, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 32% of Mark Hall's stake.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 120.82k shares worth US$6.4m. But insiders sold 651.81k shares worth US$34m. In total, Monster Beverage insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
See our latest analysis for Monster Beverage
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).
Monster Beverage Insiders Are Selling The Stock
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Monster Beverage. In total, insiders sold US$1.1m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.
Does Monster Beverage Boast High Insider Ownership?
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Monster Beverage insiders own about US$221m worth of shares (which is 0.4% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.