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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. 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 before you buy or sell Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDRA), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Selling?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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 Idera Pharmaceuticals

Idera Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Chairman James Geraghty made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$56k worth of shares at a price of US$5.58 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$2.67). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months insiders paid US$217k for 54300 shares purchased. While Idera Pharmaceuticals insiders bought shares last year, they didn't sell. The average buy price was around US$3.99. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Our data suggests Idera Pharmaceuticals insiders own 1.0% of the company, worth about US$774k. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.