While Silk Road Medical, Inc (NASDAQ:SILK) shareholders have enjoyed a good week with stock up 20%, they need remain vigilant. Although prices were relatively low, insiders chose to sell US$1.9m worth of stock in the past 12 months. This could be a sign of impending weakness.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Silk Road Medical

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Silk Road Medical

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Erica Rogers, for US$850k worth of shares, at about US$47.10 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$8.21). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Silk Road Medical insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Silk Road Medical better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Silk Road Medical Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Silk Road Medical. In total, insiders dumped US$138k 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.

Does Silk Road Medical Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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 our data, it seems that Silk Road Medical insiders own 2.1% of the company, worth about US$6.6m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Silk Road Medical Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Silk Road Medical stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. When you consider that most companies have higher levels of insider ownership, we're a little wary. So we're not rushing to buy, to say the least. 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've found that Silk Road Medical has 4 warning signs (1 is a bit concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.