While X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:XFOR) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 16%, insiders can't say the same having sold stock over the past year. The return on their investment would have been much higher had they held on to their stock.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for X4 Pharmaceuticals

X4 Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Director, Murray Stewart, sold US$138k worth of shares at a price of US$1.06 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$0.86. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Murray Stewart was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Based on our data, X4 Pharmaceuticals insiders have about 0.8% of the stock, worth approximately US$1.1m. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About X4 Pharmaceuticals Insiders?

The fact that there have been no X4 Pharmaceuticals insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Our analysis of X4 Pharmaceuticals insider transactions leaves us unenthusiastic. And usually insiders own more stock in the company, according to our data. 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. Be aware that X4 Pharmaceuticals is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those can't be ignored...

Of course X4 Pharmaceuticals may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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.