It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell MetalCorp Limited (CVE:MTC), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for MetalCorp

MetalCorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director Christopher Dougherty bought CA$202k worth of shares at a price of CA$0.03 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of CA$0.06. 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.

MetalCorp insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

MetalCorp is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insiders at MetalCorp Have Bought Stock Recently

We saw some MetalCorp insider buying shares in the last three months. Director Pierre Gagne purchased CA$18k worth of shares in that period. It's good to see the insider buying, as well as the lack of recent sellers. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.

Does MetalCorp Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 30% of MetalCorp shares, worth about CA$2.1m. 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 Do The MetalCorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think MetalCorp insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for MetalCorp (2 are significant) you should be aware of.

Of course MetalCorp 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, but not derivative transactions.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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