Invitae Corporation's (NYSE:NVTA) value has fallen 17% in the last week, but insiders who sold US$229k worth of stock over the last year have had less success. Insiders might have been better off holding onto their shares, given that the average selling price of US$1.22 is still below the current share price.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Invitae

Invitae Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, Kenneth Knight, sold US$54k worth of shares at a price of US$1.20 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. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$0.42. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Invitae didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Invitae Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data isn't picking up on much insider ownership at Invitae, though insiders do hold about US$797k worth of shares. It's always possible we are missing something but from our data, it looks like insider ownership is minimal.

So What Do The Invitae Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Invitae insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. The insider transactions at Invitae are not inspiring us to buy. And usually insiders own more stock in the company, according to our data. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Invitae you should be aware of, and 3 of these are a bit unpleasant.

But note: Invitae 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 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.