Insider Buying: The GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (CVE:GPV) Executive Chairman & CEO Just Bought US$109k Worth Of Shares

Simply Wall St
·4 min read

Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Fraser Atkinson, the Executive Chairman & CEO of GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (CVE:GPV) recently shelled out CA$109k to buy stock, at CA$21.75 per share. Although the purchase is not a big one, by either a percentage standpoint or absolute value, it can be seen as a good sign.

See our latest analysis for GreenPower Motor

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At GreenPower Motor

In fact, the recent purchase by Executive Chairman & CEO Fraser Atkinson was not their only acquisition of GreenPower Motor shares this year. Earlier in the year, they paid CA$26.09 per share in a CA$652k purchase. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$20.10). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 77.86k shares worth CA$1.4m. But insiders sold 5.00k shares worth CA$136k. Overall, GreenPower Motor insiders were net buyers during the last year. The average buy price was around CA$17.45. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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GreenPower Motor is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership of GreenPower Motor

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. GreenPower Motor insiders own about CA$113m worth of shares. That equates to 27% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The GreenPower Motor Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest GreenPower Motor insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. Nice! 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that GreenPower Motor has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

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.

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. 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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