Some Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Director, Ondrej Vlcek, recently sold a substantial US$2.8m worth of stock at a price of US$28.00 per share. However, that sale only accounted for 2.4% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Gen Digital

Notably, that recent sale by Director Ondrej Vlcek was not the only time they sold Gen Digital shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$27.12 per share in a -US$3.1m sale. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$28.93, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 2.6% of Ondrej Vlcek's holding.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Gen Digital than they bought, over 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!

I will like Gen Digital better if I see some big insider buys.

Does Gen Digital 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. It's great to see that Gen Digital insiders own 9.8% of the company, worth about US$1.7b. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Gen Digital Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for Gen Digital is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that Gen Digital is growing earnings. 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.

But note: Gen Digital 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.