Some Starling Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Vice Chairman, Bradford Hively, recently sold a substantial US$1.9m worth of stock at a price of US$6.51 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 49%, which is notable but not too bad.

Starling Oncology Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Bradford Hively was the biggest sale of Starling Oncology shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$6.56. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 49% of Bradford Hively's stake.

Jorey Chernett purchased 789.91k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$3.40. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Starling Oncology

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 13% of Starling Oncology shares, worth about US$82m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Starling Oncology Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for Starling Oncology is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. It's good to see insiders are shareholders. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Starling Oncology has 3 warning signs (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

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.

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.