Insiders were net sellers of Incyte Corporation's (NASDAQ:INCY ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

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 Incyte

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Incyte

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & Chief Medical Officer, Steven Stein, for US$1.4m worth of shares, at about US$63.28 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. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$54.85. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Steven Stein was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

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 Incyte better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Incyte insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about US$64m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Incyte Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Incyte insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Incyte you should know about.

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 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.