Those following along with Convenience Retail Asia Limited (HKG:831) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Kwok-Lun Fung, Non-Executive Chairman of the company, who spent a stonking HK$15m on stock at an average price of HK$0.95. That increased their holding by a full 54%, which arguably implies the sort of confidence required for a shy sweet-natured nerd to ask the most popular kid in the school to go out on a date.

Check out our latest analysis for Convenience Retail Asia

Convenience Retail Asia Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Kwok-Lun Fung was the biggest purchase of Convenience Retail Asia shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being HK$0.93). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Kwok-Lun Fung was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Convenience Retail Asia

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data indicates that Convenience Retail Asia insiders own about HK$66m worth of shares (which is 9.1% of the company). We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Convenience Retail Asia Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Convenience Retail Asia we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Convenience Retail Asia (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.