Catalent, Inc.'s (NYSE:CTLT) stock price has dropped 11% in the previous week, but insiders who sold US$245k in stock over the past year have had less luck. Given that the average selling price of US$101 is still lower than the current share price, insiders would probably have been better off keeping their shares.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
Catalent Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Senior VP, Steven Fasman, sold US$245k worth of shares at a price of US$101 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$122. 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. This single sale was just 3.2% of Steven Fasman's stake. Steven Fasman was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.
You can see the insider transactions (by companies and 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!
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Insider Ownership
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Catalent insiders own about US$81m worth of shares. That equates to 0.4% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Catalent Tell Us?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Catalent insiders. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. 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. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Catalent.
Of course Catalent may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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. 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.
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