Insiders who bought HK$256.1m worth of Digital Domain Holdings Limited (HKG:547) stock in the last year recovered part of their losses as the stock rose by 53% last week. The purchase, however, has proven to be a pricey bet, with losses currently totalling HK$38m.

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.

View our latest analysis for Digital Domain Holdings

Digital Domain Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider Chi-Cheng Huang made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for HK$118m worth of shares at a price of HK$0.22 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of HK$0.19. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

While Digital Domain Holdings insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Digital Domain Holdings

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Digital Domain Holdings insiders own about HK$494m worth of shares (which is 41% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Digital Domain Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Digital Domain Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Digital Domain Holdings insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Digital Domain Holdings.

But note: Digital Domain Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.