We'd be surprised if One Stop Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSS) shareholders haven't noticed that an insider, Stephen Cooper, recently sold US$373k worth of stock at US$1.81 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 9.7% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

View our latest analysis for One Stop Systems

One Stop Systems Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by insider Stephen Cooper was not the only time they sold One Stop Systems shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$570k worth of shares at a price of US$2.80 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$1.98. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$16k for 8.63k shares. On the other hand they divested 613.22k shares, for US$1.4m. Stephen Cooper divested 613.22k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$2.31. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like One Stop Systems better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of One Stop Systems

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. One Stop Systems insiders own about US$6.8m worth of shares. That equates to 16% 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 Do The One Stop Systems Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold One Stop Systems shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for One Stop Systems you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.