The recent 14% drop in Paragon 28, Inc.'s (NYSE:FNA) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased US$514.8k worth of stock at an average buy price of US$8.80 over the past 12 months. Insiders buy with the expectation to see their investments rise in value over a period of time. However, recent losses have rendered their above investment worth US$420.0k which is not ideal.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Paragon 28

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Co-Founder Albert DaCosta for US$260k worth of shares, at about US$8.51 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$7.18 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Albert DaCosta was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Albert DaCosta bought 58.50k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$8.80. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

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. Paragon 28 insiders own 23% of the company, currently worth about US$156m based on the recent share price. 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 Paragon 28 Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Paragon 28 shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Paragon 28 insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Paragon 28. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Paragon 28 (including 1 which is significant).

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.