Multiple insiders secured a larger position in Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNAC) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.

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 Cartesian Therapeutics

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Cartesian Therapeutics

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Director Timothy Springer for US$4.3m worth of shares, at about US$23.93 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$21.70. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months Cartesian Therapeutics insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The average buy price was around US$19.77. It's great to see insiders putting their own cash into the company's stock, albeit at below the recent share price. 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!

Cartesian Therapeutics 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.

Cartesian Therapeutics Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Cartesian Therapeutics. In total, insiders bought US$4.5m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Cartesian Therapeutics insiders own 55% of the company, worth about US$289m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Cartesian Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. 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. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Cartesian Therapeutics. Nice! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Cartesian Therapeutics.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.