Last week, California Nanotechnologies Corp. (CVE:CNO) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 13% last week, resulting in a CA$2.2m increase in the company's market worth, implying a 193% gain on their initial purchase. As a result, their original purchase of US$448.0k worth of stock is now worth US$1.31m.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for California Nanotechnologies

California Nanotechnologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by CEO & Director Eric Eyerman for CA$333k worth of shares, at about CA$0.15 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (CA$0.44), we still think insider buying is a positive. 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.

In the last twelve months California Nanotechnologies insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

California Nanotechnologies is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 20% of California Nanotechnologies shares, worth about CA$3.8m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About California Nanotechnologies Insiders?

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 California Nanotechnologies insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. While we like knowing 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. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for California Nanotechnologies (1 is significant!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.