Sleep Number Corporation (NASDAQ:SNBR) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that insider Stephen Macadam recently bought a whopping US$531k worth of stock, at a price of US$12.35. That increased their holding by a full 86%, which arguably implies the sort of confidence required for a shy sweet-natured nerd to ask the most popular kid in the school to go out on a date.

Sleep Number Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Stephen Macadam was the biggest purchase of Sleep Number shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$12.25 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months Sleep Number insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The average buy price was around US$10.90. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Sleep Number insiders own 4.7% of the company, worth about US$13m. 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 Sleep Number Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Sleep Number we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Sleep Number. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (2 don't sit too well with us!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Sleep Number.

Of course Sleep Number 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.