We'd be surprised if FitLife Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTLF) shareholders haven't noticed that the Chief Retail Officer, Patrick Ryan, recently sold US$335k worth of stock at US$31.80 per share. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 100% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

FitLife Brands Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Patrick Ryan was the biggest sale of FitLife Brands shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$30.15. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Patrick Ryan divested 14.54k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$29.79. 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!

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Does FitLife Brands Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 14% of FitLife Brands shares, worth about US$19m. 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 FitLife Brands Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought FitLife Brands stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that FitLife Brands is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example, FitLife Brands has 4 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

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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.