It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Moonpig Group PLC's (LON:MOON) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Moonpig Group

Moonpig Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Senior Independent Non-Executive Director David Keens for UK£134k worth of shares, at about UK£1.22 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (UK£1.56), we still think insider buying is a positive. 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.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£305k for 260.10k shares. On the other hand they divested 110.10k shares, for UK£134k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Moonpig Group insiders. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! insider-trading-volume

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this freelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Moonpig Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Moonpig Group insiders own 2.5% of the company, worth about UK£13m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.



So What Do The Moonpig Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Moonpig Group insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders do have a stake in Moonpig Group and their transactions don't cause us concern. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Moonpig Group you should know about.

But note: Moonpig Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this freelist of interesting companies with high ROE 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.