The recent 57% drop in Abeona Therapeutics Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ABEO) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased US$192.1k worth of stock at an average buy price of US$4.18 over the past 12 months. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$156.9k, which is not great.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Abeona Therapeutics

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President Vishwas Seshadri bought US$88k worth of shares at a price of US$4.39 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$3.41. 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. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$192k for 46.00k shares. But they sold 42.37k shares for US$182k. Overall, Abeona Therapeutics insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart 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).

Insiders At Abeona Therapeutics Have Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Abeona Therapeutics insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. We can see that President Vishwas Seshadri paid US$88k for shares in the company. No-one sold. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Based on our data, Abeona Therapeutics insiders have about 5.0% of the stock, worth approximately US$4.6m. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Abeona Therapeutics Insiders?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on Abeona Therapeutics 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. When we did our research, we found 5 warning signs for Abeona Therapeutics (3 are a bit unpleasant!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.