We wouldn't blame Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Daisy Ha, the Independent Director recently netted about US$708k selling shares at an average price of US$12.52. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 8.8%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Hope Bancorp

Notably, that recent sale by Daisy Ha is the biggest insider sale of Hope Bancorp shares that we've seen in the last year. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$12.51. 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).

Hope Bancorp insiders didn't buy any shares 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!

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Insider Ownership Of Hope Bancorp

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Hope Bancorp insiders own about US$74m worth of shares. That equates to 4.6% 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 Hope Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Hope Bancorp shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

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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.