The President, Andrew Anagnost, made the largest insider sell in the recent year. That single transaction was for US$5.0 million worth of shares at a price of US$224 apiece. That suggests that even if the share price was lower than the present price of US$263, an insider desired to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it indicates that they believe the lower price is reasonable. That makes us question what they think about the (higher) recent value. While insider selling is not a good omen, we don’t know if it means insiders believe the shares are properly priced, therefore it’s merely a weak signal. It is worth noting that this transaction represented just 44% of Andrew Anagnost’s
Insiders at Autodesk did not purchase any shares in the previous year. The following graph depicts insider transactions (by corporations and individuals) over the previous 12 months. Simply click on the graph below to see who sold, how much, and when!
I prefer to look at how many shares insiders own in a firm since it helps me determine how aligned they are with insiders. Insiders owning a big number of shares in the firm, in my opinion, is a good indicator. It indicates that Autodesk insiders control 0.1% of the firm, which is worth around US$65 million. While this is a substantial but not exceptional degree of insider ownership, it is sufficient to suggest some agreement between management and smaller investors.
Insiders have not purchased Autodesk shares in the past three months, but there has been some selling. Our data over the previous twelve months shows no insider purchase. But, since Autodesk is profitable and growing, we’re not too worried. Although insiders hold shares, we remain wary given the history of sales. We are not in a haste to buy! So, while these insider transactions might help us develop a thesis about the stock, it is equally important to understand the dangers that this firm faces. You might be pleased to know that we discovered one warning flag for Autodesk and recommend that you take a look.