While Outset Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:OM) shareholders have enjoyed a good week with stock up 44%, they need remain vigilant. In spite of the relatively cheap prices, insiders made the decision to sell US$1.2m worth of stock in the last 12 months. This could be a warning indicator of vulnerabilities in the future.

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.

Outset Medical Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Senior Vice President of Operations and R&D, Marc Nash, sold US$291k worth of shares at a price of US$429 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$3.79. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

In the last year Outset Medical insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Outset Medical Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Outset Medical. In total, insiders dumped US$70k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Outset Medical Boast High 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$3.3m worth of Outset Medical stock, about 1.7% of the company. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Outset Medical Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. When you consider that most companies have higher levels of insider ownership, we're a little wary. We'd certainly practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Outset Medical has 4 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

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.