Potential IQE plc (LON:IQE) shareholders may wish to note that the CEO & Director, Americo Lemos, recently bought UK￡234k worth of stock, paying UK￡0.17 for each share. That's a very decent purchase to our minds and it grew their holding by a solid 16%.

Check out our latest analysis for IQE

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At IQE

In fact, the recent purchase by Americo Lemos was the biggest purchase of IQE shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of UK￡0.20. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

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!

IQE is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that IQE insiders own 8.1% of the company, worth about UK￡16m. 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 IQE Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest IQE insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing IQE. For example, IQE has 3 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

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.

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.