Although Monopar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:MNPR) shareholders have enjoyed a great week with the stock up 28%, insiders who sold stock over the past year haven't fared as well. The value of their investment would have been higher had they waited to sell 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.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Monopar Therapeutics

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Arthur Klausner, for US$344k worth of shares, at about US$68.09 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$87.68. 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 37% of Arthur Klausner's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Arthur Klausner.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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 Of Monopar Therapeutics

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. Monopar Therapeutics insiders own about US$41m worth of shares. That equates to 7.0% of the company. 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 Monopar Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Monopar Therapeutics insiders. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Monopar Therapeutics has 2 warning signs (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: Monopar Therapeutics 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.