Some Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the EVP & COO, Xianzhi Fan, recently sold a substantial US$5.8m worth of stock at a price of US$152 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 18% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Rambus Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Xianzhi Fan was the biggest sale of Rambus shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$157. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 18% of Xianzhi Fan's holding.

Rambus insiders didn't buy any shares over 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!

I will like Rambus better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership Of Rambus

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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 Rambus insiders own 0.8% of the company, worth about US$119m. 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 Rambus Tell Us?

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 Rambus is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. 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. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Rambus.

Of course Rambus 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.