Did Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Insiders Buy Up More Shares?

We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. 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 we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC).

What Is Insider Buying?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.

Check out our latest analysis for Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Independent Director Peter Kong made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$194k worth of shares at a price of US$19.37 each. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$27.20. 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.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 3.0% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares, worth about US$52m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Kulicke and Soffa Industries Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Kulicke and Soffa Industries insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course Kulicke and Soffa Industries 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, but not derivative transactions.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.