Iress Limited (ASX:IRE) may have lost AU$313m in value but insiders who invested last year have seen gains of around AU$47k to date

Insiders who bought Iress Limited (ASX:IRE) in the last 12 months may probably not pay attention to the stock's recent 12% drop. Even after accounting for the recent loss, the AU$201k worth of stock purchased by them is now worth AU$247k or in other words, their investment continues to give good returns.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Iress

Iress Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non-Executive Chairman Roger Sharp for AU$100k worth of shares, at about AU$9.98 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (AU$12.08), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Iress insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of Iress

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. Insiders own 0.5% of Iress shares, worth about AU$11m, according to our data. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Do The Iress Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Iress insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Iress (1 is potentially serious!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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, but not derivative transactions.

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.

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