Some Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO, President & Director, David Watson, recently sold a substantial US$3.5m worth of stock at a price of US$211 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 24%, which is notable but not too bad.
Argan Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Director, Rainer Bosselmann, 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$77.11 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$222, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 17% of Rainer Bosselmann's holding.
In the last year Argan insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!
View our latest analysis for Argan
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Does Argan 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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Argan insiders own 4.5% of the company, worth about US$137m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.
So What Do The Argan Insider Transactions Indicate?
Insiders sold Argan shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Argan is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. While it's good to be aware of 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Argan and we suggest you have a look.
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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.