Insiders who bought Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HRTX) in the last 12 months may probably not pay attention to the stock's recent 29% drop. After accounting for the recent loss, the US$287.8k worth of shares they purchased is now worth US$620.0k, suggesting a good return on their investment.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Heron Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Director Craig Collard bought US$138k worth of shares at a price of US$0.92 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$2.00), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

While Heron Therapeutics insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From looking at our data, insiders own US$3.2m worth of Heron Therapeutics stock, about 1.1% of the company. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Heron Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Heron Therapeutics insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Heron Therapeutics insiders bought more shares in the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example, Heron Therapeutics has 3 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

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.