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Numerous Century Therapeutics Insiders Sold Stock: Not A Positive Omen

Simply Wall St ·  Feb 24 07:26

Century Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPSC) 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, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

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.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Century Therapeutics

The insider, Luis Borges, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$55k worth of shares at a price of US$3.55 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$3.84, 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 5.9% of Luis Borges's holding.

Insiders in Century Therapeutics 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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NasdaqGS:IPSC Insider Trading Volume February 24th 2024

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Century Therapeutics Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider selling at Century Therapeutics. Insiders only netted US$21k selling shares, in that period. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the volume sold is so low that it really doesn't bother us.

Does Century Therapeutics Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. 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 5.3% of Century Therapeutics shares, worth about US$12m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Century Therapeutics Insiders?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. But given the selling was modest, we're not worried. We're a little cautious about the insider selling at Century Therapeutics. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Century Therapeutics you should know about.

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.

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