We wouldn't blame SentinelOne, Inc. (NYSE:S) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Tomer Weingarten, the Co-Founder recently netted about US$880k selling shares at an average price of US$22.80. That sale reduced their total holding by 42% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At SentinelOne
In fact, the recent sale by Co-Founder Tomer Weingarten was not their only sale of SentinelOne shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$21.15 per share in a -US$2.0m sale. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$22.16, 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was 100% of Tomer Weingarten's stake.
In total, SentinelOne insiders sold more 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like SentinelOne better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership Of SentinelOne
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that SentinelOne insiders own 2.3% of the company, worth about US$160m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At SentinelOne Tell Us?
Insiders haven't bought SentinelOne stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. While it's good to be aware of 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 SentinelOne has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.
But note: SentinelOne 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 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.