While it's been a great week for Sigma Lithium Corporation (NASDAQ:SGML) shareholders after stock gained 10%, company insiders might have missed out on those gains after selling stock earlier this year. Had they waited, they might have been able to sell their stock at much higher prices and thereby received a better value on their investment.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Sigma Lithium Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Corporate Director, Bechara Azar, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$177k worth of shares at a price of US$9.41 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$12.30, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was 100% of Bechara Azar's stake. Bechara Azar was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like Sigma Lithium 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.

Does Sigma Lithium Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Sigma Lithium insiders own about US$32m worth of shares. That equates to 2.6% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Sigma Lithium Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Sigma Lithium insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Still, the insider transactions at Sigma Lithium in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Sigma Lithium.

Of course Sigma Lithium 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.