Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI) shareholders may have reason to be concerned, as several insiders sold their shares over the past year. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

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

Denali Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Co-Founder, Ryan Watts, for US$340k worth of shares, at about US$19.43 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$21.45. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 0.8% of Ryan Watts's holding.

Denali 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Denali Therapeutics better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Denali Therapeutics insiders own 4.6% of the company, currently worth about US$143m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Denali Therapeutics Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Denali Therapeutics insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Denali Therapeutics. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Denali Therapeutics (1 can't be ignored) you should be aware of.

Of course Denali Therapeutics 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.