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Should You Take Comfort From Insider Transactions At Alpha Financial Markets Consulting plc (LON:AFM)?

We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. 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 Alpha Financial Markets Consulting plc (LON:AFM).

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a 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 it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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'.

Check out our latest analysis for Alpha Financial Markets Consulting

Alpha Financial Markets Consulting Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non-Executive Chairman Kenneth Fry for UK£9.9m worth of shares, at about UK£199 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£2.09). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Kenneth Fry 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

insider-trading-volume
insider-trading-volume

Alpha Financial Markets Consulting 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.

Insider Ownership of Alpha Financial Markets Consulting

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data indicates that Alpha Financial Markets Consulting insiders own about UK£5.4m worth of shares (which is 2.5% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Alpha Financial Markets Consulting Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Alpha Financial Markets Consulting insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Alpha Financial Markets Consulting insiders are doubting the company. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Alpha Financial Markets Consulting you should be aware of.

But note: Alpha Financial Markets Consulting 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.

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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