Yext, Inc.'s (NYSE:YEXT) value has fallen 14% in the last week, but insiders who sold US$155k worth of stock over the last year have had less success. Insiders would probably have been better off holding on to their shares given that the average selling price of US$7.36 is still lower than the current share price.

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.

Yext Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP, Ho Shin, for US$93k worth of shares, at about US$6.20 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$5.54). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Ho Shin was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Ho Shin divested 21.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$7.36. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Does Yext Boast High 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 6.7% of Yext shares, worth about US$47m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Yext Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Yext shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Yext insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Yext you should know about.

Of course Yext 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.