Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) 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 versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, 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.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Advanced Energy Industries

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Advanced Energy Industries

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & CFO, Paul Oldham, for US$384k worth of shares, at about US$100.00 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$87.83). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Advanced Energy Industries didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!

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Insiders At Advanced Energy Industries Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Advanced Energy Industries. In total, Independent Director Ronald Foster dumped US$484k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 0.7% of Advanced Energy Industries shares, worth about US$25m. 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 Advanced Energy Industries Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Advanced Energy Industries stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Advanced Energy Industries makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Advanced Energy Industries. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Advanced Energy Industries and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

Of course Advanced Energy Industries 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.