Yahoo Finance Possible Bearish Signals With Meta Platforms Insiders Disposing Stock
Many Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
View our latest analysis for Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$3.8m worth of shares at a price of US$473 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$535). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 9.3% of Andrew Bosworth's stake.
Insiders in Meta Platforms didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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: Most of them are flying under the radar).
Insiders At Meta Platforms Have Sold Stock Recently
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Meta Platforms shares. Specifically, Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth ditched US$2.4m 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
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. It's great to see that Meta Platforms insiders own 14% of the company, worth about US$184b. 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 Meta Platforms Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider sold Meta Platforms shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But since Meta Platforms is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Meta Platforms. For example - Meta Platforms has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
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.
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