Last week, CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CFB) stock jumped 10%, but insiders who sold US$644k worth of stock in over the past year are likely to be in a better position. Holding on to stock would have meant their investment would be worth less now than it was at the time of sale. Thus selling at an average price of US$10.48, which is higher than the current price, may have been the best decision.

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 CrossFirst Bankshares

CrossFirst Bankshares Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director, Michael Robinson, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$271k worth of shares at a price of US$10.64 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$14.25. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 22% of Michael Robinson's stake.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$188k for 18.60k shares. On the other hand they divested 61.50k shares, for US$644k. All up, insiders sold more shares in CrossFirst Bankshares than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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CrossFirst Bankshares Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of CrossFirst Bankshares shares. In total, insiders sold US$373k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership Of CrossFirst Bankshares

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 5.8% of CrossFirst Bankshares shares, worth about US$39m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At CrossFirst Bankshares Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought CrossFirst Bankshares stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that CrossFirst Bankshares is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! While we like knowing 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for CrossFirst Bankshares that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

But note: CrossFirst Bankshares 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.