Potential OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:OPLN) shareholders may wish to note that the CEO & Director, Peter Kelly, recently bought US$500k worth of stock, paying US$33.72 for each share. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 2.2%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At OPENLANE

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & President of Marketplaces, James Coyle, sold US$537k worth of shares at a price of US$36.01 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$35.51. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

All up, insiders sold more shares in OPENLANE 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!

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 OPENLANE

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. OPENLANE insiders own about US$48m worth of shares. That equates to 1.1% of the company. 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 Do The OPENLANE Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. We don't take much heart from transactions by OPENLANE insiders over the last year. But they own a reasonable amount of the company, and there was some buying recently. So they seem pretty well aligned, overall. 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 OPENLANE has 2 warning signs (1 is a bit concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: OPENLANE 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.