Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AMN). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic 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, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for AMN Healthcare Services

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At AMN Healthcare Services

The President Caroline Grace made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$992k worth of shares at a price of US$57.06 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$26.12. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

While AMN Healthcare Services insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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. Our data indicates that AMN Healthcare Services insiders own about US$7.6m worth of shares (which is 0.8% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About AMN Healthcare Services Insiders?

The fact that there have been no AMN Healthcare Services insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think AMN Healthcare Services insiders are doubting the company. 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. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for AMN Healthcare Services (2 are a bit unpleasant!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

Of course AMN Healthcare Services may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.