IDEXX Laboratories Insiders Sell US$4.5m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution
In the last year, many IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
Check out our latest analysis for IDEXX Laboratories
IDEXX Laboratories Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer, James Polewaczyk, sold US$3.1m worth of shares at a price of US$511 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$446. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.
IDEXX Laboratories insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
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Insiders At IDEXX Laboratories Have Sold Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at IDEXX Laboratories. Specifically, Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer James Polewaczyk ditched US$3.1m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.
Insider Ownership Of IDEXX Laboratories
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. IDEXX Laboratories insiders own 1.0% of the company, currently worth about US$358m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
So What Do The IDEXX Laboratories Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider hasn't bought IDEXX Laboratories stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that IDEXX Laboratories is growing earnings. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that IDEXX Laboratories has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.
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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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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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.
