Some Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAV) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Gary Staley, recently sold a substantial US$1.1m worth of stock at a price of US$25.87 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 19%, which is notable but not too bad.

Viavi Solutions Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive VP & CFO, Ilan Daskal, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$3.0m worth of shares at a price of US$17.84 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$24.50. 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. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was 94% of Ilan Daskal's holding.

In the last year Viavi Solutions insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.6% of Viavi Solutions shares, worth about US$94m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Viavi Solutions Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Viavi Solutions stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing.

Of course Viavi Solutions 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.