Are Insiders Buying Vesuvius plc (LON:VSVS) Stock?

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. 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 Vesuvius plc (LON:VSVS), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

See our latest analysis for Vesuvius

Vesuvius Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Chairman of the Board John McDonough bought UK£80k worth of shares at a price of UK£3.98 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is UK£4.10. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider bought shares at close to current prices. John McDonough was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

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!

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

Does Vesuvius Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Our data suggests Vesuvius insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about UK£1.7m. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Vesuvius Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Vesuvius shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Vesuvius stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Vesuvius. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Vesuvius you should be aware of.

Of course Vesuvius 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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