The recent 42% drop in Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MIST) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased US$93.9k worth of stock at an average buy price of US$3.76 over the past 12 months. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$41.8k, which is not great.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Milestone Pharmaceuticals

Milestone Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Lorenz Muller for US$94k worth of shares, at about US$3.80 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$1.67). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Lorenz Muller was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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.

Does Milestone Pharmaceuticals Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. From looking at our data, insiders own US$861k worth of Milestone Pharmaceuticals stock, about 1.1% of the company. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Milestone Pharmaceuticals Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Milestone Pharmaceuticals insiders bought more shares in the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Milestone Pharmaceuticals. You'd be interested to know, that we found 4 warning signs for Milestone Pharmaceuticals and we suggest you have a look.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.