In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Co-President & Co-COO, Brett Fairclough, sold US$970k worth of shares at a price of US$19.39 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$19.57). 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was 57% of Brett Fairclough's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Brett Fairclough.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$2.0m for 115.00k shares. On the other hand they divested 50.00k shares, for US$970k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Virtu Financial insiders. 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of Virtu Financial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Virtu Financial insiders own about US$47m worth of shares. That equates to 1.5% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Virtu Financial Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Virtu Financial insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in Virtu Financial and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Virtu Financial that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

But note: Virtu Financial 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.