Those following along with EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by James DeFranco, Director of the company, who spent a stonking US$1.5m on stock at an average price of US$13.48. While that only increased their holding size by 2.4%, it is still a big swing by our standards.

Check out our latest analysis for EchoStar

EchoStar Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by James DeFranco was the biggest purchase of EchoStar shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$14.13. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider bought shares at close to current prices. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was James DeFranco.

James DeFranco bought 200.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$13.36. 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does EchoStar Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that EchoStar insiders own 17% of the company, worth about US$705m. 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 EchoStar Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. 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. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest EchoStar insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. Looks promising! 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. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for EchoStar (2 don't sit too well with us!) that we believe deserve your full attention.