Insiders seem to have made the most of their holdings by selling US$599k worth of Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN) stock at an average sell price of US$5.86 during the past year. After the stock price dropped 11% last week, the company's market value declined by US$75m, but insiders were able to mitigate their losses.
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.
View our latest analysis for Origin Materials
Origin Materials Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Pia Cook, sold US$292k worth of shares at a price of US$6.08 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$4.25. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 80.00k shares for US$486k. On the other hand they divested 102.29k shares, for US$599k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Origin Materials than they bought, over the last year. 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!
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Does Origin Materials Boast High Insider Ownership?
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 8.6% of Origin Materials shares, worth about US$51m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Origin Materials Insiders?
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Origin Materials shares in the last quarter. Our analysis of Origin Materials insider transactions leaves us cautious. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. 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. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Origin Materials (1 is concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
But note: Origin Materials 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.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.