Those following along with Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSHA) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Paul Manning, Board Observer of the company, who spent a stonking US$3.0m on stock at an average price of US$2.25. There's no denying a buy of that magnitude suggests conviction in a brighter future, although we do note that proportionally it only increased their holding by 5.7%.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Taysha Gene Therapies
Notably, that recent purchase by Board Observer Paul Manning was not the only time they bought Taysha Gene Therapies shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of US$15m worth of shares at a price of US$0.90 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$2.15. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$19m for 19.23m shares. But insiders sold 85.87k shares worth US$61k. In total, Taysha Gene Therapies insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The average buy price was around US$1.00. To my mind it is good that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, we do note that they were buying at significantly lower prices than today's share price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and 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!
Taysha Gene Therapies is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.
Insider Ownership Of Taysha Gene Therapies
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. It appears that Taysha Gene Therapies insiders own 13% of the company, worth about US$55m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Do The Taysha Gene Therapies Insider Transactions Indicate?
It is good 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. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Taysha Gene Therapies we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Taysha Gene Therapies you should be aware of, and 2 of these can't be ignored.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.
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