When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in Firetail Resources Limited's (ASX:FTL) instance, it's good news for shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Firetail Resources

Firetail Resources Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Brett Grosvenor bought AU$80k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.04 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of AU$0.063. 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.

While Firetail Resources insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. The average buy price was around AU$0.047. We don't deny that it is nice to see insiders buying stock in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. 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!

Firetail Resources is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 9.6% of Firetail Resources shares, worth about AU$2.0m, according to our data. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

So What Does This Data Suggest About Firetail Resources Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Firetail Resources stock. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Firetail Resources (2 are a bit unpleasant!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

Of course Firetail Resources 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.

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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.