Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the President, John Chidsey, recently bought a whopping US$2.5m worth of stock, at a price of US$16.37. That purchase boosted their holding by 2,348%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by John Chidsey is the biggest insider purchase of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$18.15. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 349.45k shares for US$5.9m. But they sold 5.25k shares for US$110k. In total, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings insiders own 0.4% of the company, worth about US$34m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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. For example, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

But note: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 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.