A-Smart Holdings Ltd. (SGX:BQC) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that insider Hong Leong Oei recently bought a whopping S$5.4m worth of stock, at a price of S$0.18. That increased their holding by a full 2,356%, which arguably implies the sort of confidence required for a shy sweet-natured nerd to ask the most popular kid in the school to go out on a date.

Check out our latest analysis for A-Smart Holdings

A-Smart Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Hong Leong Oei is the biggest insider purchase of A-Smart Holdings shares that we've seen in the last year. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of S$0.29. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. A-Smart Holdings insiders own about S$30m worth of shares (which is 57% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The A-Smart Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about A-Smart Holdings. One for the watchlist, at least! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing A-Smart Holdings. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for A-Smart Holdings you should be aware of, and 1 of these is concerning.

But note: A-Smart 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.