Energy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:NRGV) shareholders might have a reason to worry after multiple insiders sold their shares over the last year. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Energy Vault Holdings

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman & CEO Robert Piconi bought US$260k worth of shares at a price of US$0.87 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$1.46. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Energy Vault Holdings than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, 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.

Energy Vault Holdings Insiders Bought Stock Recently

There has been significantly more insider buying, than selling, at Energy Vault Holdings, over the last three months. We can see that Chairman & CEO Robert Piconi paid US$260k for shares in the company. But we did see insider selling worth US$157k. We think insiders may be optimistic about the future, since insiders have been net buyers of shares.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 20% of Energy Vault Holdings shares, worth about US$44m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Energy Vault Holdings Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. While recent transactions indicate confidence in Energy Vault Holdings, insiders don't own enough of the company to overcome our cautiousness about the longer term transactions. Overall they seem reasonably aligned. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Energy Vault Holdings.

But note: Energy Vault Holdings 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.