Insiders who purchased CN¥5.00m worth of Zall Smart Commerce Group Ltd. (HKG:2098) shares over the past year recouped some of their losses after price gained 24% last week. However, the purchase is proving to be an expensive wager as insiders are yet to get ahead of their losses which currently stand at CN¥993k since the time of purchase.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Zall Smart Commerce Group

The Founder Zhi Yan made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$2.3m worth of shares at a price of HK$0.40 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than HK$0.28 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Zhi Yan.

Zhi Yan purchased 14.06m shares over the year. The average price per share was HK$0.36. 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!

Zall Smart Commerce Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Zall Smart Commerce Group

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. 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's great to see that Zall Smart Commerce Group insiders own 71% of the company, worth about HK$2.5b. 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 Zall Smart Commerce Group Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like Zall Smart Commerce Group insiders think the business has merit. 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 Zall Smart Commerce Group has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

Of course Zall Smart Commerce 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.