Insider buying is often regarded as a bullish indicator as few should know a company better than its own directors.
The idea is that if they have the confidence to buy shares, it could be a sign that things are going well and they expect them to appreciate in value.
Conversely, when directors sell shares it is often regarded as a bearish indicator as you'd be unlikely to sell shares if you felt they were about to increase in value.
With that in mind, here are three shares which have recently experienced notable insider selling:
A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)
According to a change of director's interest notice, this infant formula and dairy company's chair sold shares last week. The notice reveals that David Hearn exercised 100,000 options for a total of NZ$63,000 and then immediately offloaded all 100,000 shares on-market for a total of NZ$1,454,657.50. Mr Hearn advised that the sale was made "to fund tax obligations".
Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)
A change of director's interest notice reveals that its independent non-executive director, Peter Mann, has sold 30% of his holding in the provider of software products and services to clients operating in the wealth management and funds administration industries. Mr Mann sold 25,172 shares through an on-market trade last week for $5.09 per share or a total consideration of approximately $128,000. This reduced his holding down to 58,144 shares. No reason was provided for the selling.
Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)
The CEO of this infection control company, Mr Michael Kavanagh, sold 310,000 shares through an on-market trade at the end of last month for a total consideration of approximately $1.3 million. According to the release, the sale was required to fund a tax liability. In addition to this, non-executive chairman, Mr Maurie Stang, completed an on-market sale of 1,250,000 shares on Friday of last week. The executive received approximately $5.2 million for this parcel of shares. Despite the sizeable sale, Mr Stang remains one of Nanosonics' largest shareholders with a 6.3% stake in the company.
