Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Chairman, Frank Laukien, recently bought a whopping US$1.0m worth of stock, at a price of US$50.92. While that only increased their holding size by 0.05%, it is still a big swing by our standards.
See our latest analysis for Bruker
In fact, the recent purchase by Chairman Frank Laukien was not their only acquisition of Bruker shares this year. Earlier in the year, they paid US$51.36 per share in a US$5.0m purchase. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$50.82 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Frank Laukien was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.
Frank Laukien purchased 120.00k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$50.27. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
Bruker is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Bruker insiders own 32% of the company, worth about US$2.5b. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Bruker. One for the watchlist, at least! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Bruker you should be aware of, and 1 of these is a bit concerning.
But note: Bruker may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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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.