Over the past year, many Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors’ interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.
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.
See our latest analysis for Las Vegas Sands
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chairman, Robert Goldstein, for US$6.4m worth of shares, at about US$53.73 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$49.90. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.
In the last year Las Vegas Sands insiders didn’t buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like Las Vegas Sands 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.
Over the last three months, we’ve seen significant insider selling at Las Vegas Sands. In total, insiders dumped US$12m 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.
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. It’s great to see that Las Vegas Sands insiders own 24% of the company, worth about US$8.9b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
Insiders haven’t bought Las Vegas Sands stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn’t see any purchases. But it is good to see that Las Vegas Sands is growing earnings. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it’s beneficial to identify the risks facing Las Vegas Sands. You’d be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Las Vegas Sands and we suggest you have a look.