Over the past year, many Synaptics Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

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.

Synaptics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, Kermit Nolan, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.1m worth of shares at a price of US$104 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$93.71. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Synaptics insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Synaptics Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. Synaptics insiders own about US$57m worth of shares. That equates to 1.6% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Synaptics Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Synaptics shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Synaptics insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. 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. For example - Synaptics has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course Synaptics 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.