Independent Director of 5N Plus Jean-Marie Bourassa Buys 6.7% More Shares \

Investors who take an interest in 5N Plus Inc. (TSE:VNP) should definitely note that the Independent Director, Jean-Marie Bourassa, recently paid CA$3.30 per share to buy CA$330k worth of the stock. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 6.7%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.

See our latest analysis for 5N Plus

5N Plus Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Financial Officer, Richard Perron, sold CA$460k worth of shares at a price of CA$3.32 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of CA$3.33. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was 100% of Richard Perron's holding. Richard Perron was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$1.7m for 929.30k shares. On the other hand they divested 178.99k shares, for CA$587k. Overall, 5N Plus insiders were net buyers during the last year. The average buy price was around CA$1.79. To my mind it is good that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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. 5N Plus insiders own about CA$14m worth of shares. That equates to 4.8% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The 5N Plus Insider Transactions Indicate?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at 5N Plus, in the last three months. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for 5N Plus you should be aware of.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.

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