Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Oakley Capital Investments Limited (LON:OCI) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

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.

View our latest analysis for Oakley Capital Investments

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Oakley Capital Investments

The Founder Peter Adam Dubens made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£1.4m worth of shares at a price of UK£4.68 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£4.20). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Oakley Capital Investments insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! insider-trading-volume

Oakley Capital Investments is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this freelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Oakley Capital Investments insiders own about UK£86m worth of shares (which is 12% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.



So What Does This Data Suggest About Oakley Capital Investments Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Oakley Capital Investments and their transactions don't cause us concern. I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow for free.

Of course Oakley Capital Investments may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this freecollection 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.