Generally, when a single insider buys stock, it is usually not a big deal. However, when several insiders are buying, like in the case of Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ), it sends a favourable message to the company's shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Core Scientific

Core Scientific Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Jordan Levy for US$497k worth of shares, at about US$10.20 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$10.24. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for Core Scientific share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 449.52k shares for US$1.8m. But insiders sold 61.92k shares worth US$573k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Core Scientific insiders. Their average price was about US$4.08. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. 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 undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Insiders At Core Scientific Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Core Scientific over the last quarter. They bought US$599k worth in that time. On the other hand, they sold US$557k worth of shares. It is good to see that insiders have been buying, but they did not buy very many shares, in the scheme of things.

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. Core Scientific insiders own about US$160m worth of shares (which is 6.3% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Core Scientific Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like Core Scientific insiders think the business has merit. While it's good to be aware of 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 3 warning signs for Core Scientific (1 is concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Of course Core Scientific 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 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.