Anyone interested in Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL) should probably be aware that the President, Christopher Hall, recently divested US$142k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$5.38 each. That sale was 13% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Personalis

In fact, the recent sale by Christopher Hall was the biggest sale of Personalis shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$5.58. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 13% of Christopher Hall's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Personalis shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Personalis Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Our data indicates that Personalis insiders own about US$5.6m worth of shares (which is 1.8% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Personalis Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. When you combine this with the relatively low insider ownership, we are very cautious about the stock. So we're not rushing to buy, to say the least. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Personalis you should be aware of, and 1 of them is significant.

Of course Personalis 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.