Trade alert: Andrew John Ross, independent non-executive director of Polar Capital Holdings plc (LON: POLR), just spent £ 116,000 to buy 60% more shares

Potential Polar Capital Holdings plc (LON: POLR) Shareholders may wish to note that the independent non-executive director, Andrew John Ross, recently purchased £ 116,000 of shares, paying £ 7.71 for each share. This certainly makes us anticipate the best, especially since they have thus increased their own stake by 60%, potentially signaling real optimism.

Check out our latest review for Polar Capital Holdings

The Last 12 Months of Insider Trading at Polar Capital Holdings

Over the past year, we can see that the biggest insider sale has come from insider Brian Jonathan Ashford-Russell for £ 1.2million of shares, at around £ 8.02 sterling per share. This means that an insider was selling shares for a lower price than the current price (UK £ 8.09). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that he or she considered that lower price to be fair. This makes us wonder what they think of the recent (higher) valuation. However, while insider selling can be daunting at times, this is only a weak signal. It should be noted that this sale only represented 4.4% of Brian Jonathan Ashford-Russell’s stake.

Fortunately, we note that in the past year, insiders paid £ 1.1million for 147.30,000 shares. But they sold 345.60,000 shares for £ 2.7million. Over the past year, we’ve seen more insider sales of Polar Capital Holdings shares than purchases. The chart below shows insider trading (by companies and individuals) over the past year. If you click on the chart, you can see all of the individual trades including the stock price, individual and date!

I’d like Polar Capital Holdings better if I see big insider buys. In the meantime, watch this free list of growing companies with significant and recent insider buying.

Insider ownership of Polar Capital Holdings

Another way to test the alignment between a company’s executives and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Strong insider ownership often makes company management more concerned with the interests of shareholders. Insiders of Polar Capital Holdings own around £ 112million of shares (or 14% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership because it increases the chances that management is thinking in the best interests of shareholders.

What might insider trading at Polar Capital Holdings tell us?

The recent insider buying is encouraging. But the same cannot be said for the transactions of the last 12 months. The high levels of insider ownership and recent insider buying suggest they are well aligned and bullish. So, while it is useful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it is also useful to know the risks that a particular company faces. To help you, we have discovered 1 warning sign which you should browse to get a better picture of Polar Capital Holdings.

If you would rather consult with another company – one with potentially superior finances – then don’t miss this free list of interesting companies, which have a HIGH return on equity and low leverage.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are the persons who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private assignments, but not derivative transactions.

This Simply Wall St article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts using only unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell shares and does not take into account your goals or your financial situation. Our aim is to bring you long-term, targeted analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest announcements from price sensitive companies or qualitative documents. Simply Wall St has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

Do you have any feedback on this item? Are you worried about the content? Get in touch with us directly. You can also send an email to the editorial team (at) simplywallst.com.