While American Well Corporation (NYSE:AMWL) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 28%, they shouldn't let their guards down. The fact that insiders chose to dispose of US$4.2m worth of stock in the past 12 months even though prices were relatively low could be indicative of some anticipated weakness.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for American Well

American Well Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chairman & Co-CEO, Ido Schoenberg, sold US$428k worth of shares at a price of US$3.24 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$1.34. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year American Well insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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 American Well Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at American Well. In total, insiders dumped US$462k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership Of American Well

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. It appears that American Well insiders own 14% of the company, worth about US$47m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At American Well Tell Us?

Insiders sold American Well shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for American Well you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.