Despite a 20% gain in Aldeyra Therapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ALDX) stock price this week, shareholders shouldn't let up. Although prices were relatively low, insiders chose to sell US$852k worth of stock in the past 12 months. This could be a sign of impending weakness.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Aldeyra Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO, President & Director, Todd Brady, for US$581k worth of shares, at about US$3.27 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$6.32). 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. This single sale was just 14% of Todd Brady's stake.

Aldeyra Therapeutics insiders didn't buy any shares 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 click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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 Aldeyra Therapeutics Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Aldeyra Therapeutics. In total, insiders dumped US$127k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 2.6% of Aldeyra Therapeutics shares, worth about US$8.9m, according to our data. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

What Might The Insider Transactions At Aldeyra Therapeutics Tell Us?

Insiders sold Aldeyra Therapeutics shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insiders own relatively few shares in the company, and when you consider the sales, we're not particularly excited about the stock. So we'd only buy after very careful consideration. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Aldeyra Therapeutics (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

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.