Some Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Angelique Strong Marks, recently sold a substantial US$692k worth of stock at a price of US$11.94 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 75%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

Cars.com Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chief Financial Officer, Sonia Jain, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$826k worth of shares at a price of US$9.56 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$12.22, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was 53% of Sonia Jain's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Cars.com shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Cars.com better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership Of Cars.com

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 2.5% of Cars.com shares, worth about US$16m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Cars.com Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Cars.com stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.com (1 is concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.