LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the COO & President of Marketplace Businesses, Scott Peyree, recently bought a whopping US$1.4m worth of stock, at a price of US$42.91. Aside from being a solid chunk in its own right, the deft move also saw their holding increase by some 47%.

View our latest analysis for LendingTree

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At LendingTree

In fact, the recent purchase by Scott Peyree was the biggest purchase of LendingTree shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$49.26 per share to be enticing. 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. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 54.06k shares for US$2.3m. On the other hand they divested 13.31k shares, for US$657k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by LendingTree insiders. 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!

LendingTree is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that LendingTree insiders own 18% of the company, worth about US$122m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At LendingTree Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest LendingTree insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. That's what I like to see! 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for LendingTree you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.