Those following along with Savara Inc. (NASDAQ:SVRA) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by David Ramsay, Independent Director of the company, who spent a stonking US$1m on stock at an average price of US$1.45. That increased their holding by a full 565%, which arguably implies the sort of confidence required for a shy sweet-natured nerd to ask the most popular kid in the school to go out on a date.
Savara Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent purchase by David Ramsay was the biggest purchase of Savara shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$2.07), we still think insider buying is a positive. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn’t tell us much about what they think of current prices.
Savara insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn’t sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and 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!
Savara is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Does Savara Boast High 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data suggests Savara insiders own 1.5% of the company, worth about US$3.5m. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven’t picked up on. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Savara Tell Us?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we’d like to see, the history of transactions imply that Savara insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So while it’s helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it’s also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing.