In the last year, many Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. 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.

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.

Enphase Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director, Thurman Rodgers, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$41m worth of shares at a price of US$130 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$72.13. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.5m for 18.00k shares. But they sold 369.71k shares for US$46m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Enphase Energy shares, than buying. The sellers received a price of around US$124, on average. We are not joyful about insider selling. But we note that the selling, on average, was at well above the recently traded price of US$72.13. 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!

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Insiders At Enphase Energy Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Enphase Energy. We can see that President Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman paid US$611k for shares in the company. No-one sold. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership Of Enphase Energy

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Enphase Energy insiders own about US$304m worth of shares (which is 3.1% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Enphase Energy Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. But we can't say the same for the transactions over the last 12 months. Overall, we'd prefer see a more sustained buying from directors, but with a significant insider holding and more recent purchases, Enphase Energy insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Enphase Energy you should know about.

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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.