In the last year, many Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. 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, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Qiagen Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Member of the Supervisory Board & Vice Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, Metin Colpan, for US$4.6m worth of shares, at about US$46.45 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$44.46. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Insiders in Qiagen 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like Qiagen better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Qiagen Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Qiagen shares. In total, insiders sold US$7.0m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Qiagen insiders own about US$45m worth of shares. That equates to 0.5% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Qiagen Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Qiagen stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Qiagen. While conducting our analysis, we found that Qiagen has 3 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.