Although BARK, Inc. (NYSE:BARK) shareholders have enjoyed a great week with the stock up 26%, insiders who sold stock over the past year haven't fared as well. The return on their investment would have been much higher had they held on to their stock.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

BARK Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Co-Founder, Henrik Werdelin, for US$175k worth of shares, at about US$1.75 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$1.99). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 0.9% of Henrik Werdelin's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of BARK shares, than buying. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insiders At BARK Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen notably more insider selling, than insider buying, at BARK. We note insiders cashed in US$312k worth of shares. Meanwhile Co-Founder Matt Meeker bought US$52k worth. Generally this level of net selling might be considered a bit bearish.

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. It appears that BARK insiders own 20% of the company, worth about US$61m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At BARK Tell Us?

The stark truth for BARK is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for BARK you should be aware of.

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.