We’ve lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSSE), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
Do Insider Transactions Matter?
It’s quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. 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. 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’.
See our latest analysis for Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent sale by Amy Newmark is the biggest insider sale of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment shares that we’ve seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$33.41. We generally don’t like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it’s not too bad (but it’s still not a positive).
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!
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 Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Have Sold Stock Recently
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment shares. Specifically, Senior Brand Advisor & Director Amy Newmark ditched US$105k 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
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment insiders own about US$21m worth of shares. That equates to 4.5% of the company. 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 Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider hasn’t bought Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn’t see any purchases. Insider ownership isn’t particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We’d practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it’s also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we’ve spotted 5 warning signs for Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment you should know about.
But note: Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment 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.
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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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