Looking at Veeva Systems Inc.'s (NYSE:VEEV ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.

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.

View our latest analysis for Veeva Systems

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Veeva Systems

The insider, Michele O'Connor, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.2m worth of shares at a price of US$163 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$190, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 46% of Michele O'Connor's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Michele O'Connor.

Michele O'Connor sold a total of 7.72k shares over the year at an average price of US$165. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Veeva Systems better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Veeva Systems 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Veeva Systems insiders own about US$2.7b worth of shares (which is 8.9% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Veeva Systems Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Veeva Systems insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Veeva Systems insiders selling. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Veeva Systems that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

But note: Veeva Systems 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.