When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:LYEL) instance, it's good news for shareholders.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Lyell Immunopharma

Lyell Immunopharma Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Charles Newton is the biggest insider purchase of Lyell Immunopharma shares that we've seen in the last year. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$0.58 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Lyell Immunopharma insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

While Lyell Immunopharma insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Lyell Immunopharma is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insiders At Lyell Immunopharma Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Lyell Immunopharma. In total, insiders bought US$218k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Does Lyell Immunopharma Boast High 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. From looking at our data, insiders own US$4.3m worth of Lyell Immunopharma stock, about 3.0% of the company. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Lyell Immunopharma Tell Us?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Lyell Immunopharma insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Lyell Immunopharma. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Lyell Immunopharma (including 1 which is significant).

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.