Some Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that insider Mario Giuliani recently sold a substantial US$130m worth of stock at a price of US$54.60 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 10%, which is notable but not too bad.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Royalty Pharma

In fact, the recent sale by Mario Giuliani was the biggest sale of Royalty Pharma shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$53.70. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Mario Giuliani ditched 5.09m shares over the year. The average price per share was US$47.98. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Royalty Pharma Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Royalty Pharma insiders own 5.3% of the company, worth about US$1.6b. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Royalty Pharma Tell Us?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision.

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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.