While BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 54%, they shouldn't let their guards down. The fact that insiders chose to dispose of US$1.7m worth of stock in the past 12 months even though prices were relatively low could be indicative of some anticipated weakness.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

BigBear.ai Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Avishay Katz, sold US$620k worth of shares at a price of US$2.64 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$3.38. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 35% of Avishay Katz's stake.

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

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).

Does BigBear.ai Holdings Boast High 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. BigBear.ai Holdings insiders own about US$20m worth of shares. That equates to 2.3% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About BigBear.ai Holdings Insiders?

The fact that there have been no BigBear.ai Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by BigBear.ai Holdings insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. 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. Be aware that BigBear.ai Holdings is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...

But note: BigBear.ai 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.