Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ADPT) shareholders may have reason to be concerned, as several insiders sold their shares over the past year. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Adaptive Biotechnologies

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Adaptive Biotechnologies

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Financial Officer, Tycho Peterson, sold US$272k worth of shares at a price of US$7.16 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$4.45). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Adaptive Biotechnologies insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Adaptive Biotechnologies Have Sold Stock Recently

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Adaptive Biotechnologies, over the last three months. insider Nitin Sood sold just US$38k worth of shares in that time. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the amount sold isn't enough for us to put any weight on it.

Insider Ownership Of Adaptive Biotechnologies

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company 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. It appears that Adaptive Biotechnologies insiders own 3.0% of the company, worth about US$19m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Adaptive Biotechnologies Insiders?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. However, the sales are not big enough to concern us at all. Recent sales exacerbate our caution arising from analysis of Adaptive Biotechnologies insider transactions. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. 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 Adaptive Biotechnologies that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course Adaptive Biotechnologies 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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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.