Some Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the President, Christian O. Henry, recently sold a substantial US$527k worth of stock at a price of US$5.78 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 32% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

See our latest analysis for Pacific Biosciences of California

Pacific Biosciences of California Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Operating Officer, Mark Van Oene, for US$590k worth of shares, at about US$14.23 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. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$5.72. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year Pacific Biosciences of California 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!

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Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.9% of Pacific Biosciences of California shares, worth about US$11m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Pacific Biosciences of California Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Pacific Biosciences of California stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Pacific Biosciences of California (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

Of course Pacific Biosciences of California 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, 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.