Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO) insiders who purchased shares in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The stock climbed by 15% resulting in a US$4.1m addition to the company’s market value. As a result, their original purchase of US$202.4k worth of stock is now worth US$290.3k.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Harvard Bioscience Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director William Snider made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$104k worth of shares at a price of US$4.99 each. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$7.08. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

While Harvard Bioscience insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. 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!

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).

Does Harvard Bioscience Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data indicates that Harvard Bioscience insiders own about US$2.3m worth of shares (which is 7.1% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Harvard Bioscience Tell Us?

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 Harvard Bioscience 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 Harvard Bioscience may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.