Insider Trades: 11 ASX 200 directors bought shares during last week's selloff

Welcome back to the Insider Trades Series – a weekly summary of on-market ASX 200 director transactions valued at more than $10,000. The trades have all taken place between 7 and 10 April 2025. Directors have up to 5 business days to notify the ASX of their trades.

Insider trading activity has picked up notably after two quiet weeks, as equity markets grapple with persistent Trump tariffs announcements and retaliatory moves from the rest of the world. The jump comes during one of the most volatile weeks for the S&P/ASX 200 since March 2020. It suggests that some investors are willing to step in and buy the dip, showing a selective appetite amid elevated market volatility. Interestingly, no large cap directors sold any shares during the selloff.

Top ASX 200 Insider Trades

Key takeaways

Nicholas Politis is the largest shareholder of Eagers Automotive and one arguably, one of the most active buyers. In 2022, he executed over 50 on-market purchases, and his latest transaction — his first of 2025 and since September 2024 — underscores his ongoing confidence. There hasn't been much news out of Eagers Automotive in the past couple of months. The most notable recent development was its half-year FY25 result on 27 February, which beat earnings expectations and materially outperformed peers in the industry.

"The margin outlook has stabilised with material upside existing to outer-year margins, if APE achieves its medium-term target. This should support an expansion in APE's PE back towards pre-pandemic averages (~18x) with rate cuts providing a further tailwind," Macquarie analysts said in a note in February.

The stock surged 20% following the result, reaching a near one-year high, and has since climbed an additional 13% to trade near record levels. Despite a market selloff on Monday (S&P/ASX 200 down 4.2%), Politis bought shares, and Eagers ended the week up 13%.

Imdex CEO Paul House was another high-profile insider who purchased a small $76,500 parcel amid recent weakness. The company reported a relatively strong half-year FY25 result on 12 February, which drove the share price 7.5% higher. While revenue fell 10% year-on-year, this outperformed the 19% decline in global exploration activity for 2024. Management’s commentary highlighted enthusiasm for strategic M&A to bolster Imdex’s portfolio, and the stock has since risen about 8% from House’s entry point.

The rest of the transactions above are all by Non-Executive Directors.