Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERA) insiders who bought shares over the past year were rewarded handsomely last week. The stock rose 15%, resulting in a US$66m rise in the company's market capitalisation, translating to a gain of 29% on their initial investment. In other words, the original US$223.0k purchase is now worth US$287.7k.

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.

See our latest analysis for Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chief Financial Officer Sean Grant bought US$100k worth of shares at a price of US$7.00 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$11.51), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Vera Therapeutics insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The average buy price was around US$8.92. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Vera Therapeutics is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Vera Therapeutics 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. Our data suggests Vera Therapeutics insiders own 0.7% of the company, worth about US$3.5m. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Vera Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Vera Therapeutics shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Vera Therapeutics insiders are doubting the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Vera Therapeutics. For instance, we've identified 5 warning signs for Vera Therapeutics (3 are a bit unpleasant) you should be aware of.

Of course Vera 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.