Many LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

LifeStance Health Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO & Chairman, Kenneth Burdick, for US$1.3m worth of shares, at about US$6.28 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$7.21. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 6.8% of Kenneth Burdick's holding.

Insiders in LifeStance Health Group didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like LifeStance Health Group 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.

Insiders At LifeStance Health Group Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw some LifeStance Health Group insider selling. Chief People Officer Ann Varanakis only netted US$33k selling shares, in that period. Neither the lack of buying nor the presence of selling is heartening. But the volume sold is so low that it really doesn't bother us.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that LifeStance Health Group insiders own 13% of the company, worth about US$367m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At LifeStance Health Group Tell Us?

While there has not been any insider buying in the last three months, there has been selling. But given the selling was modest, we're not worried. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the LifeStance Health Group insiders selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing LifeStance Health Group. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for LifeStance Health Group that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course LifeStance Health Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.