Despite the fact that Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) stock rose 26% last week, insiders who sold US$577k worth of stock in the previous 12 months are likely to be better off. Holding on to stock would have meant their investment would be worth less now than it was at the time of sale. Thus selling at an average price of US$5.47, which is higher than the current price, may have been the best decision.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Byrna Technologies

Byrna Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Chief Technology Officer, Andre Buys, sold US$245k worth of shares at a price of US$3.58 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$11.24. 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 21% of Andre Buys's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$230k for 82.14k shares. But they sold 105.46k shares for US$577k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Byrna Technologies than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$5.47. It's not too encouraging to see that insiders have sold at below the current price. Of course, the sales could be motivated for a multitude of reasons, so we shouldn't jump to conclusions. 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!

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Insiders At Byrna Technologies Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Byrna Technologies. Specifically, insider Victor Eng ditched US$100k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership Of Byrna Technologies

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Byrna Technologies insiders own 19% of the company, worth about US$42m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Byrna Technologies Tell Us?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Byrna Technologies. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Byrna Technologies and we suggest you have a look.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.