Have Insiders Been Selling Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) Shares?
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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
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 would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. 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 Zumiez
Zumiez Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by Director Travis Smith for US$92k worth of shares, at about US$28.85 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$24.22. While their view may have changed since the sale, this is not a particularly positive fact. Arguably, insider selling at around current prices should give us reason to reflect on whether the stock is fully valued at the moment.
We note that in the last year insiders divested 5.13k shares for a total of US$146k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Zumiez than they bought, over the last year. They sold for an average price of about US$28.56. It’s not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares around current prices. But we don’t put too much weight on the insider selling, since sellers could have personal reasons. 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!
I will like Zumiez better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Does Zumiez Boast High Insider Ownership?
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Zumiez insiders own 22% of the company, currently worth about US$139m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Zumiez Tell Us?
It doesn’t really mean much that no insider has traded Zumiez shares in the last quarter. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Zumiez, we can’t say the same about the selling of shares. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Zumiez.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.
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. On rare occasion, data errors may occur. Thank you for reading.
