Whitebark Energy Limited (ASX:WBE) insiders who purchased shares in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The stock climbed by 14% resulting in a AU$385k addition to the company’s market value. As a result, the stock they originally bought for AU$231.3k is now worth AU$479.4k.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Whitebark Energy

Whitebark Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Niv Dagan bought AU$189k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.02 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$0.016 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Niv Dagan was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Niv Dagan bought 29.96m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of AU$0.0077. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. 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. 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 Whitebark Energy

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. Whitebark Energy insiders own about AU$1.1m worth of shares. That equates to 37% 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 Do The Whitebark Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. 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. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Whitebark Energy insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Whitebark Energy you should be aware of, and 4 of these shouldn't be ignored.