Bullish Argonaut Gold Insiders Loaded Up On US$2.7m Of Stock
In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSE:AR) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.
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.
View our latest analysis for Argonaut Gold
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Argonaut Gold
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO, President & Director Richard Young bought CA$789k worth of shares at a price of CA$0.60 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is CA$0.60. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.
Argonaut Gold insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The average buy price was around CA$0.50. We don't deny that it is nice to see insiders buying stock 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insiders At Argonaut Gold Have Bought Stock Recently
There was some insider buying at Argonaut Gold over the last quarter. Insiders purchased CA$59k worth of shares in that period. It's good to see the insider buying, as well as the lack of recent sellers. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.
Insider Ownership
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From looking at our data, insiders own CA$5.5m worth of Argonaut Gold stock, about 1.1% of the company. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Argonaut Gold Tell Us?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Argonaut Gold insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Argonaut Gold. While conducting our analysis, we found that Argonaut Gold has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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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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.
