A number of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) insiders sold their shares in the last year, which may have raised concerns among investors. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Merit Medical Systems

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Merit Medical Systems

The CFO & Treasurer, Raul Parra, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$479k worth of shares at a price of US$74.52 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$103, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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 46% of Raul Parra's holding.

In the last year Merit Medical Systems insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

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

Insider Ownership Of Merit Medical Systems

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Merit Medical Systems insiders own about US$139m worth of shares (which is 2.3% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Merit Medical Systems Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Merit Medical Systems shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Merit Medical Systems insiders selling. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

But note: Merit Medical Systems may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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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