Did Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIVO) Insiders Sell Shares?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIVO).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. 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 Meridian Bioscience

Meridian Bioscience Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when Executive Vice President of Global Operations Lawrence Baldini sold US$681k worth of shares at a price of US$19.55 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$17.04. They might be selling for a variety of reasons, but it’s hard to argue this is a bullish sign. We usually pause to reflect on the potential that a stock has a high valuation, if insiders have been selling at around the current price. Lawrence Baldini was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 2.57k shares for US$41k. But insiders sold 35.10k shares worth US$681k. 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).

Are Meridian Bioscience Insiders Buying Or Selling?

We saw some Meridian Bioscience insider buying shares in the last three months. Independent Director Dwight Ellingwood purchased US$9.3k worth of shares in that period. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. But the amount invested in the last three months isn’t enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.

Does Meridian Bioscience Boast High 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 1.2% of Meridian Bioscience shares, worth about US$8.4m, according to our data. Whilst better than nothing, we’re not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Meridian Bioscience Tell Us?

Insider purchases have outweighed sales, in the last three months. But the difference isn’t much. The insider transactions at Meridian Bioscience are not inspiring us to buy. We also note that, as far as we can see, insider ownership is fairly low, compared to other companies. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Meridian Bioscience, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.