The recent price decline of 17% in MBX Biosciences, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MBX) stock may have disappointed insiders who bought US$534.5k worth of shares at an average price of US$10.69 in the past 12 months. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$469.5k, which is not great.

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 MBX Biosciences

MBX Biosciences Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO, President & Director Peter Hawryluk made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$535k worth of shares at a price of US$10.69 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$9.39). 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 encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Peter Hawryluk.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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

Insider Ownership Of MBX Biosciences

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Our data indicates that MBX Biosciences insiders own about US$9.6m worth of shares (which is 3.1% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About MBX Biosciences Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on MBX Biosciences stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing MBX Biosciences. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for MBX Biosciences you should be aware of, and 2 of these don't sit too well with us.

Of course MBX Biosciences 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.