Trade Alert: Division President of U.S. Franchise Of Planet Fitness William Bode Has Sold Stock

We’d be surprised if Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) shareholders haven’t noticed that the Division President of U.S. Franchise, William Bode, recently sold US$465k worth of stock at US$100 per share. That sale was 49% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

See our latest analysis for Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by William Bode is the biggest insider sale of Planet Fitness shares that we’ve seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$100, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don’t know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 49% of William Bode’s holding.

In the last year Planet Fitness insiders didn’t buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Does Planet Fitness Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it’s a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Planet Fitness insiders own about US$23m worth of shares. That equates to 0.3% of the company. We’ve certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Planet Fitness Insiders?

Insiders haven’t bought Planet Fitness stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn’t see any purchases. But it is good to see that Planet Fitness is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don’t own a heap, and they have been selling. We’re in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it’s also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Planet Fitness (2 are concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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.