We wouldn't blame Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Murdo Gordon, the Executive Vice President of Global Commercial Operations recently netted about US$2.6m selling shares at an average price of US$295. That sale reduced their total holding by 22% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Check out our latest analysis for Amgen

Amgen Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Murdo Gordon is the biggest insider sale of Amgen shares that we've seen in the last year. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$291. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

In the last year Amgen insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Amgen better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Amgen insiders own about US$230m worth of shares (which is 0.1% of the company). 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 Amgen Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Amgen shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For instance, we've identified 5 warning signs for Amgen (1 shouldn't be ignored) you should be aware of.

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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