We'd be surprised if EverQuote, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVER) shareholders haven't noticed that the Chief Technology Officer, David Brainard, recently sold US$269k worth of stock at US$10.24 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 15% in their holding.

Check out our latest analysis for EverQuote

EverQuote Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by David Brainard is the biggest insider sale of EverQuote shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$10.69. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 15% of David Brainard's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in EverQuote than they bought, over the last year. 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!

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Does EverQuote Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that EverQuote insiders own 11% of the company, worth about US$39m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The EverQuote Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold EverQuote shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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 4 warning signs for EverQuote that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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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.