Anyone interested in Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA) should probably be aware that the Independent Director, Terry Vance, recently divested US$139k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$9.12 each. In particular, we note that the sale equated to a 73% reduction in their position size, which doesn't exactly instill confidence.

Check out our latest analysis for Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Terry Vance was the biggest sale of Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$9.34). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was 73% of Terry Vance's holding.

Insiders in Enanta Pharmaceuticals didn't buy any shares in 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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Insider Ownership

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. Enanta Pharmaceuticals insiders own about US$13m worth of shares. That equates to 6.4% 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.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Enanta Pharmaceuticals Insiders?

Insiders sold Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Enanta Pharmaceuticals. While conducting our analysis, we found that Enanta Pharmaceuticals has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

Of course Enanta Pharmaceuticals may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.