Insiders who bought Fossil Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOSL) stock in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The company's market value increased by US$56m as a result of the stock's 82% gain over the same period. Put another way, the original US$359.2k acquisition is now worth US$587.5k.

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.

Fossil Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Franco Fogliato is the biggest insider purchase of Fossil Group shares that we've seen in the last year. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$2.35. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data indicates that Fossil Group insiders own about US$8.7m worth of shares (which is 11% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Fossil Group Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on Fossil Group stock. 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've found that Fossil Group has 4 warning signs (2 shouldn't be ignored!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.