While it’s been a great week for Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLNT) shareholders after stock gained 20%, not so much for insiders who sold stock over the past year. The return on their investment would have been much higher had they held on to their stock.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Fluent Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chief Executive Officer, Donald Patrick, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$50k worth of shares at a price of US$2.58 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$4.03. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 12% of Donald Patrick's stake.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 11.31k shares worth US$24k. On the other hand they divested 32.78k shares, for US$83k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Fluent shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Fluent Insiders Are Selling The Stock

There was substantially more insider selling, than buying, of Fluent shares over the last three months. In total, insiders sold US$75k worth of shares in that time. Meanwhile insiders bought US$24k worth. Generally this level of net selling might be considered a bit bearish.

Does Fluent Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Fluent insiders own 46% of the company, worth about US$51m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Fluent Tell Us?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Fluent stock, than buying, in the last three months. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. 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.

Of course Fluent 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.