Over the past year, many Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. 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.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Vir Biotechnology

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO & Director, Marianne De Backer, for US$690k worth of shares, at about US$9.46 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$7.95). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Vir Biotechnology didn't buy any shares in 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 are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Vir Biotechnology Insiders Are Selling The Stock

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Vir Biotechnology, over the last three months. Executive VP Vanina de Verneuil divested only US$11k worth of shares in that time. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the selling simply isn't sufficiently substantial to be of much use as a signal.

Does Vir Biotechnology Boast High 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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 4.9% of Vir Biotechnology shares, worth about US$51m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Vir Biotechnology Insider Transactions Indicate?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. But the sales were small, so we're not concerned. We're a little cautious about the insider selling at Vir Biotechnology. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - Vir Biotechnology has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course Vir Biotechnology 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.