Insiders who purchased Telos Corporation (NASDAQ:TLS) shares in the past 12 months are unlikely to be deeply impacted by the stock's 16% decline over the past week. Even after accounting for the recent loss, the US$2.51m worth of stock purchased by them is now worth US$4.35m or in other words, their investment continues to give good returns.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Telos

Telos Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman John Wood bought US$906k worth of shares at a price of US$2.31 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$3.94. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months Telos insiders were buying shares, but not selling. 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!

Telos is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insiders At Telos Have Bought Stock Recently

We saw some Telos insider buying shares in the last three months. Independent Director Bradley Jacobs purchased US$16k worth of shares in that period. It's good to see the insider buying, as well as the lack of recent sellers. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own.

Insider Ownership Of Telos

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Telos insiders own about US$40m worth of shares. That equates to 14% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Telos Tell Us?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Telos insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Telos. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Telos has 4 warning signs (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: Telos 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.