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 Oportun Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:OPRT), 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, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Oportun Financial

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Oportun Financial

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Dave Tomlinson for US$66k worth of shares, at about US$2.66 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$3.08. 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.

Oportun Financial 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. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Oportun Financial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. From our data, it seems that Oportun Financial insiders own 8.7% of the company, worth about US$9.6m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Oportun Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

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. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Oportun Financial insiders are doubting the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Oportun Financial. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Oportun Financial and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

But note: Oportun Financial 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.