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Have Insiders Been Buying Minotaur Exploration Limited (ASX:MEP) Shares This Year?

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 shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Minotaur Exploration Limited (ASX:MEP).

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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'.

See our latest analysis for Minotaur Exploration

Minotaur Exploration Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

While there weren't any large insider transactions in the last twelve months, it's still worth looking at the trading.

In the last twelve months Minotaur Exploration insiders were buying shares, but not selling. Their average price was about AU$0.038. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price, which is AU$0.029. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!

ASX:MEP Recent Insider Trading April 7th 2020
ASX:MEP Recent Insider Trading April 7th 2020

Minotaur Exploration 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.

Minotaur Exploration Insiders Bought Stock Recently

We saw some Minotaur Exploration insider buying shares in the last three months. Insiders bought AU$45k worth of shares in that time. 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.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Our data indicates that Minotaur Exploration insiders own about AU$555k worth of shares (which is 5.4% of the company). However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Minotaur Exploration Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. That said, the purchases were not large. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Minotaur Exploration insiders are doubting the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Minotaur Exploration. To help with this, we've discovered 6 warning signs (3 are potentially serious!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Minotaur Exploration.

But note: Minotaur Exploration may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list 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, but not derivative transactions.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.