We'd be surprised if Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FET) shareholders haven't noticed that the Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer, Michael Danford, recently sold US$118k worth of stock at US$78.91 per share. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 2.8%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

Forum Energy Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP, John Ivascu, sold US$264k worth of shares at a price of US$60.01 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$82.86). 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 5.1% of John Ivascu's holding.

Insiders in Forum Energy Technologies didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

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. It appears that Forum Energy Technologies insiders own 10% of the company, worth about US$95m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Forum Energy Technologies Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Forum Energy Technologies stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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.

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.