Luminar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAZR) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Founder, Austin Russell, recently bought a whopping US$8.9m worth of stock, at a price of US$6.03. That purchase boosted their holding by 63%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

View our latest analysis for Luminar Technologies

Luminar Technologies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Austin Russell was the biggest purchase of Luminar Technologies shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$6.54. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Luminar Technologies insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

While Luminar Technologies 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. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Luminar Technologies is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Luminar Technologies Boast High 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. Luminar Technologies insiders own about US$707m worth of shares (which is 29% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Luminar Technologies Tell Us?

It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Luminar Technologies insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. That's what I like to see! While we like knowing 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Luminar Technologies you should be aware of.

Of course Luminar Technologies 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.

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