As stock markets become relatively calm compared to the pandemonium of a few weeks ago, there’s been a marked drop in the number of directors wheeling and dealing in their company’s shares.
A much higher than usual number of directors were looking to take advantage of depressed share prices around a month ago, when stock markets were nearing almost double-digit percentage falls daily.
Since then there’s been less opportunity to snap up bargains as markets recover, with a roughly equal number of buys and sells over the past couple of weeks.
The most notable transactions involve some of this month’s stock market winners, with directors seemingly looking to take advantage of big rises in their company’s share price since the beginning of the month.
ASOS FOUNDER OFFLOADS £21M OF SHARES
One such director is Nick Robertson, founder and now non-executive director of online fashion retailer ASOS (ASC:AIM).
According to an update, Robertson sold 1m shares at £21 each as part of a loan facility with Credit Suisse.
ASOS shares are down significantly year-to-date, but have risen sharply from their low point of £10.50 on 17 March, with its share price soaring after it raised £247m in a placing to help protect against a ‘prolonged downturn’ as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
DIRECTOR SELLS AFTER 487% REVENUE JUMP
While in the financial world Michael Fairbairn, non-executive director at trading platform Plus500 (PLUS) sold around 22,700 shares at £11.16 each, pocketing a total of over £253,000.
Plus500 shares have jumped markedly since the middle of last month, going from 731p on 17 March to around £12 today, as more people look to trade amid the market volatility.
In an update for the three months to 31 March, the company reported a massive 487% jump in revenue to $316.6m compared to $53.9m in the same quarter a year ago.
It said this was achieved as a result of significantly increased volatility across global financial markets, in turn driving higher levels of customer trading activity coupled with an increased rate of new customers.
PERSONAL ASSETS DIRECTOR SNAPS UP SHARES
Sticking with the finance world, a notable buyer of shares has been Paul Read, non-executive director of investment trust Personal Assets (PNL).
Read bought 1,200 shares at £431.40 each, for a total of £517,680, on Tuesday.
The defensive FTSE 250 trust tends to underperform when global stock markets are surging, but falls less when markets are plunging, with its share price up year-to-date as it weathers the current coronavirus storm better than most on the mid-cap index.
For a full list of the week’s most significant trades, click here.
