Have Insiders Been Selling Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) Shares This Year?

We’ve lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER).

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that ‘insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.’

Check out our latest analysis for Teradyne

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Teradyne

CEO, President & Director Mark Jagiela made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.4m worth of shares at a price of US$39.20 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$41.00, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. While sellers have a variety of reasons for selling, this isn’t particularly great to see. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling on market, especially if they did so below the current price. Please note, however, that this single sale was just 9.8% of Mark Jagiela’s stake.

Over the last year, we note insiders sold 98.10k shares worth US$3.7m. In total, Teradyne insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. They sold for an average price of about US$37.71. We don’t gain much confidence from insider selling near the recent share price. But we don’t put too much weight on the insider selling, since sellers could have personal reasons. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders at Teradyne Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Teradyne shares. In total, insiders sold US$3.7m worth of shares in that time, and we didn’t record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership of Teradyne

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Teradyne insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$41m. We’ve certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Teradyne Insiders?

Insiders sold Teradyne shares recently, but they didn’t buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn’t show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Teradyne is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don’t own a heap, and they have been selling. We’d think twice before buying! Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Teradyne, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.