Those following along with Horizon Gold Limited (ASX:HRN) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Peter Sullivan, Non-Executive Chairman of the company, who spent a stonking AU$790k on stock at an average price of AU$0.39. That increased their holding by a full 78%, which arguably implies the sort of confidence required for a shy sweet-natured nerd to ask the most popular kid in the school to go out on a date.

View our latest analysis for Horizon Gold

Horizon Gold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Peter Sullivan was the biggest purchase of Horizon Gold shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of AU$0.44. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Horizon Gold insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Does Horizon Gold Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data indicates that Horizon Gold insiders own about AU$3.9m worth of shares (which is 6.1% of the company). Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

What Might The Insider Transactions At Horizon Gold Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Horizon Gold 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 Horizon Gold. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Horizon Gold you should be aware of, and 3 of these are a bit concerning.

But note: Horizon Gold may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.