Being a new trader, I need to know how important insider trading is before I purchase a stock. I noticed that NDE was subject to a lot of insider trading last week and the stock went up 2$ in the matter of days.
Insider trading was, is and always will be there as long as market function. You need is to be able to identify and join it. It is extremely hard and individual stocks can be manipulated very easily. This is one of the reason why I trade index futures, it is a lot harder to manipulate a basket, the execution is superior to anything and the leverage is what ever you like it to be (even 100%), you do need to know on how to use it though.
Regarding NDE I'd be concerned. There have been some really questionable things going on there. They were the largest writer of Alt-A loans last year which instantly makes them a short candidate for me. Their lead counsel resigned last week under extremely suspicious conditions. I'd stay away from that company. RE: Insider trading in general. So many directors only buy for fluff now. Most stocks that insiders get is via options so I'd be weary of trading by the buying habits of insiders. It's not a very reliable indicator. Selling may be another story depending on the volume of sales and some other factors. Good luck.