Autodesk Insiders Sold US$21m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy
The fact that multiple Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
See our latest analysis for Autodesk
Autodesk Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The President, Andrew Anagnost, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$5.0m worth of shares at a price of US$224 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$263, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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 only 44% of Andrew Anagnost's holding.
Insiders in Autodesk didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insiders At Autodesk Have Sold Stock Recently
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Autodesk shares. In total, insiders dumped US$4.7m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.
Does Autodesk Boast High Insider Ownership?
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Autodesk insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about US$65m. 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 Autodesk Insider Transactions Indicate?
Insiders haven't bought Autodesk 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 since Autodesk is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Autodesk and we suggest you have a look.
But note: Autodesk 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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