We wouldn't blame Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Eitan Oppenhaim, the Executive Chairman of the Board recently netted about US$750k selling shares at an average price of US$581. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 17%, which is notable but not too bad.

Nova Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Eitan Oppenhaim was the biggest sale of Nova shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$489). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Insiders in Nova didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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. Our data indicates that Nova insiders own about US$8.3m worth of shares (which is 0.05% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Nova Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Nova is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. When you combine this with the relatively low insider ownership, we are very cautious about the stock. So we're not rushing to buy, to say the least. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Nova.

But note: Nova 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.