Some Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Lead Independent Director, Ravinder Gupta, recently sold a substantial US$7.5m worth of stock at a price of US$41.51 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 19%, which is notable but not too bad.

Maplebear Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Ravinder Gupta was the biggest sale of Maplebear shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$41.26. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Maplebear insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Maplebear Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. Maplebear insiders own 11% of the company, currently worth about US$1.1b based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Maplebear Insiders?

An insider sold Maplebear shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since Maplebear is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Maplebear has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

But note: Maplebear 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.