Insiders at SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL) sold US$1.8m worth of stock at an average price of US$10.49 a share over the past year, making the most of their investment. The company's market worth decreased by US$94m over the past week after the stock price dropped 8.6%, although insiders were able to minimize their losses

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for SunOpta

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At SunOpta

The Senior Vice President of Global Sourcing, Barend Reijn, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$312k worth of shares at a price of US$10.41 each. 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$9.30). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 46.60k shares for US$249k. But insiders sold 175.48k shares worth US$1.8m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of SunOpta shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like SunOpta better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

SunOpta Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of SunOpta shares. Specifically, insiders ditched US$1.8m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that SunOpta insiders own 3.4% of the company, worth about US$34m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At SunOpta Tell Us?

Insiders sold SunOpta shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that SunOpta has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

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.