Anyone interested in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) should probably be aware that the Senior VP of Global Specialty Carbon Black & EMEA Region, Sandra Niewiem, recently divested US$201k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$24.21 each. That sale was 37% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Orion Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director Corning Painter made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$324k worth of shares at a price of US$21.59 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$23.56. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider bought shares at close to current prices. Corning Painter was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Does Orion Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 2.2% of Orion shares, worth about US$31m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Orion Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Orion stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. And insiders do own shares. So the recent selling doesn't worry us too much. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Orion and we suggest you have a look.

Of course Orion 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.