By selling US$3.3m worth of Veritex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:VBTX) stock at an average sell price of US$41.09 over the last year, insiders seemed to have made the most of their holdings. The company's market valuation decreased by US$66m after the stock price dropped 4.4% over the past week, but insiders were spared from painful losses.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Veritex Holdings

Veritex Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director, Manuel Mehos, for US$3.1m worth of shares, at about US$41.18 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$26.59. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 47.01k shares for US$1.8m. But they sold 80.73k shares for US$3.3m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Veritex Holdings than they bought, over the last year. 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!

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

Insiders At Veritex Holdings Have Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Veritex Holdings insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Overall, two insiders shelled out US$57k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Veritex Holdings insiders own 2.9% of the company, worth about US$42m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Veritex Holdings Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. We don't take much heart from transactions by Veritex Holdings insiders over the last year. But they own a reasonable amount of the company, and there was some buying recently. Overall they seem reasonably aligned. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example - Veritex Holdings has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

But note: Veritex Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.