We'd be surprised if The United Laboratories International Holdings Limited (HKG:3933) shareholders haven't noticed that the VP & Executive Director, Xian Hong Zou, recently sold HK$2.3m worth of stock at HK$15.11 per share. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 57% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At United Laboratories International Holdings

Notably, that recent sale by Xian Hong Zou is the biggest insider sale of United Laboratories International Holdings shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of HK$15.90, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was 57% of Xian Hong Zou's holding.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for United Laboratories International Holdings

I will like United Laboratories International Holdings better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that United Laboratories International Holdings insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about HK$272m. 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 United Laboratories International Holdings Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for United Laboratories International Holdings you should know about.

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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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