Investors who take an interest in Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS) should definitely note that the Independent Director, Robert Averick, recently paid US$5.68 per share to buy US$182k worth of the stock. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 6.6%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Amtech Systems

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by President Robert Daigle for US$260k worth of shares, at about US$3.96 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$5.66. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

While Amtech Systems insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. They paid about US$4.70 on average. To my mind it is good that insiders have invested their own money in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. 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!

Amtech Systems is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Amtech Systems

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 17% of Amtech Systems shares, worth about US$13m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Amtech Systems Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Insiders likely see value in Amtech Systems shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Amtech Systems. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Amtech Systems (1 can't be ignored!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.