Yahoo Finance comScore Up 20%, Insiders Still Down After US$2.6m Purchase \
Some of the losses seen by insiders who purchased US$2.6m worth of comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) shares over the past year were recovered after the stock increased by 20% over the past week. However, the purchase is proving to be an expensive wager as insiders are yet to get ahead of their losses which currently stand at US$1.0m since the time of purchase.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
Check out our latest analysis for comScore
comScore Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Vice Chairman William Livek for US$1.2m worth of shares, at about US$1.93 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$1.01). 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. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.
While comScore insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. The average buy price was around US$1.66. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices. 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!
comScore 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.
comScore Insiders Bought Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at comScore. Executive Vice Chairman William Livek spent US$255k on stock, and there wasn't any selling. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.
Insider Ownership
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. 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 looking at our data, insiders own US$4.6m worth of comScore stock, about 4.9% of the company. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.
So What Do The comScore Insider Transactions Indicate?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on comScore stock. While we like knowing 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for comScore that deserve your attention before buying any shares.
Of course comScore 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.
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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.
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