Metal Hawk Limited (ASX:MHK) insiders who bought shares over the past year were rewarded handsomely last week. The stock rose 78%, resulting in a AU$7.0m rise in the company's market capitalisation, translating to a gain of 88% on their initial investment. Put another way, the original AU$181.9k acquisition is now worth AU$342.1k.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Metal Hawk

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Metal Hawk

Notably, that recent purchase by Timothy Rupert Goyder is the biggest insider purchase of Metal Hawk shares that we've seen in the last year. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of AU$0.16. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

While Metal Hawk insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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).

Insiders At Metal Hawk Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, Metal Hawk insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. In total, insiders bought AU$126k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Metal Hawk insiders own about AU$3.9m worth of shares. That equates to 23% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Metal Hawk Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Metal Hawk insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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 5 warning signs for Metal Hawk (3 are significant!) that we believe deserve your full attention.