Some of the losses seen by insiders who purchased US$182.0k worth of Syrah Resources Limited (ASX:SYR) shares over the past year were recovered after the stock increased by 16% over the past week. However, the purchase is proving to be an expensive wager as insiders are yet to get ahead of their losses which currently stand at US$57k since the time of purchase.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Syrah Resources

Syrah Resources Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Non-Executive Chairman James Askew bought AU$182k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.91 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of AU$0.63. 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. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. James Askew was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

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!

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

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Syrah Resources insiders own 6.3% of the company, worth about AU$27m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Syrah Resources Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Syrah Resources shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Syrah Resources and their transactions don't cause us concern. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Syrah Resources you should be aware of, and 1 of them is significant.