Many Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. 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, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Akamai Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Co-Founder F. Leighton bought US$2.0m worth of shares at a price of US$92.68 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$90.34). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. 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. F. Leighton was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Akamai Technologies than they bought, 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!

I will like Akamai Technologies better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Akamai Technologies Have Bought Stock Recently

There has been significantly more insider buying, than selling, at Akamai Technologies, over the last three months. We can see that Co-Founder F. Leighton paid US$2.0m for shares in the company. But we did see insider Anthony Williams sell shares worth US$957k. The buying outweighs the selling, which suggests that insiders may believe the company will do well in the future.

Insider Ownership Of Akamai Technologies

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Akamai Technologies insiders own about US$247m worth of shares (which is 1.8% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Akamai Technologies Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. The high levels of insider ownership, and the recent buying by an insider suggests they are well aligned and optimistic. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Akamai Technologies. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Akamai Technologies you should be aware of.

But note: Akamai Technologies may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.