Insiders who bought US$107.0k worth of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. (NYSE:ASPN) stock in the last year recovered part of their losses as the stock rose by 13% last week. However, the purchase is proving to be an expensive wager as insiders are yet to get ahead of their losses which currently stand at US$40k since the time of purchase.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Aspen Aerogels

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President Donald Young bought US$107k worth of shares at a price of US$5.35 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$3.33. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Donald Young was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

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

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From looking at our data, insiders own US$3.7m worth of Aspen Aerogels stock, about 1.4% of the company. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Aspen Aerogels Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Aspen Aerogels stock. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

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.