- Bloomsbury director buys 16,938 shares
- Croda International CFO buys 3,762 shares
- Rathbones director buys 12,500 shares
Leslie Ann-Reed, non-executive director at publishing group Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) has bought 16,938 shares at 472p for a total value of £79,997 on 31 July.
Reed’s purchase comes several weeks after the publishing group said it was on track for full year 2026 in a trading update.
The company has found enormous success with its catalogue including romantasy author Sarah J. Maas and J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame.
Bloomsbury will be releasing J.K. Rowling's Pocket Potters series in August this year – mini-guides to characters from the Harry Potter universe.
Year-to-date Bloomsbury shares haven’t fared that well, falling nearly 30% after announcing mixed full-year results in May and amid an uncertain outlook.
CRODA INTERNATIONAL CFO BUYS 3,762 SHARES
Stephen Richard Oxley, CFO of specialty chemicals company Croda International (CRDA) has bought 3,762 shares at £26.71 for a total value of £100,483 on 29 July.
Oxley’s purchase comes on the same day the company reported an improvement in first half revenue and said its outlook for the full year remained unchanged.
Croda’s first half pre-tax profit fell 19% to £85.5 million from £106.1 million last year, despite revenue improving 4.9% to £855.8 million.
Over the past year the shares have fallen by a third, which suggests Oxley could be taking advantage of weakness in the share price.
RATHBONES DIRECTOR BUYS 12,500 SHARES
Clive Bannister, chair at wealth management group Rathbones (RAT) has bought 12,500 shares at £19.29 for a total value of £241,125 on 1 August.
The wealth management group recently reported disappointing first half results due to market volatility – underlying pre-tax profit fell to £107.7 million compared to £112.1 million in the same period last year.
However, Bannister’s move might be viewed by investors as a vote of confidence in the wealth management group.
Over the past year Rathbone’s shares have gained a modest 4%.
