Anyone interested in Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNDX) should probably be aware that the CEO & Director, Michael Metzger, recently divested US$361k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$21.03 each. That sale was 20% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Syndax Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Michael Metzger is the biggest insider sale of Syndax Pharmaceuticals shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$21.14, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 20% of Michael Metzger's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$242k for 26.77k shares. But they sold 38.89k shares for US$710k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Syndax Pharmaceuticals 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership Of Syndax Pharmaceuticals

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Syndax Pharmaceuticals insiders own 0.7% of the company, worth about US$13m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Syndax Pharmaceuticals Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Syndax Pharmaceuticals stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

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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.