Usually, when one insider buys stock, it might not be a monumental event. But when multiple insiders are buying like they did in the case of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARS), that sends out a positive message to the company's shareholders.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

The Chief Medical Advisor & Director Elizabeth Lin made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$160k worth of shares at a price of US$16.80 each. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$32.29. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last twelve months Tarsus Pharmaceuticals insiders were buying shares, but not selling. 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!

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

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals insiders own 3.4% of the company, worth about US$41m. 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 Do The Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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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.