Who Has Been Buying Clovis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLVS) Shares?
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Clovis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLVS).
What Is Insider Buying?
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
Check out our latest analysis for Clovis Oncology
Clovis Oncology Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent purchase by Thorlef Spickschen was the biggest purchase of Clovis Oncology shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$5.60 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Clovis Oncology insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Thorlef Spickschen.
Thorlef Spickschen purchased 17800 shares over the year. The average price per share was US$5.56. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!
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
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. From our data, it seems that Clovis Oncology insiders own 2.9% of the company, worth about US$8.7m. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Clovis Oncology Insiders?
It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Clovis Oncology insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Clovis Oncology.
But note: Clovis Oncology 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.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
