Yahoo Finance Insiders in DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) are down 27% on their US$12m purchase despite recent gains
Insiders who purchased US$12m worth of DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) shares over the past year recouped some of their losses after price gained 7.1% last week. The purchase, however, has proven to be a pricey bet, with losses currently totalling US$3.4m.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
See our latest analysis for DocuSign
DocuSign Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by President Daniel Springer for US$5.0m worth of shares, at about US$76.45 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$75.25 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Daniel Springer.
Daniel Springer bought 120.33k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$103. 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).
Insider Ownership
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. DocuSign insiders own about US$205m worth of shares (which is 1.4% of the company). 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 DocuSign Insider Transactions Indicate?
It is good to see the recent insider purchase. 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. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest DocuSign insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. That's what I like to see! While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for DocuSign you should be aware of.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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. 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.
