Insider Trades: 15 ASX 200 directors bought and sold shares last week

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 9 and 13 August 2024. Directors have up to 5 business days to notify the ASX of their trades.

Top ASX 200 Insider Buys

Lots of Non-Execs

All of the above insiders are non-executive directors except for Anthony Heraghty, the CEO of Super Retail Group. Although his transaction acquired shares under a deferred short-term incentive grant from FY24. He subsequently sold approximately $1.7 million worth of shares after the grant. Here are some interesting takeaways/context:

• Eagers Automotive: Mr Politis is the company's largest shareholder and owns approximately 28% of the company. Since 2022, he has recorded 74 on-market transactions (all of which are buys), totaling $13.9 million.

• Steadfast: FY24 results (29-Aug) were largely in-line with the company's guidance and hit the upper end of expectations. Analysts broadly noted that while the overall performance was solid, there were some mixed signals (e.g. broking division flagged signs of softening organic growth). A key point of discussion was SDF's robust M&A strategy, which continues to be a significant growth driver. With ample debt capacity and a strong pipeline of potential acquisitions, SDF is well-positioned for further expansion. The average target price across 11 analysts post-earnings was $6.97.

• Orora: FY24 results (14-Aug) beat market expectations by 6-10%, underpinned by operational efficiencies, price discipline and strong margins. The stock rallied 5.9% on the result, which followed a non-binding and indicative offer from Lone Star Fund the prior day, offering $2.55 per share.

• GPT Group: Like all REITs, GPT Group has been beneficiary of lower bond yields and has rallied around 50% since October 2023. Its latest half-year result (19-Aug) was largely in-line with analyst expectations, where weakness from its office portfolio was offset by strength in retail. "We maintain our Buy rating on GPT reflecting a resilient portfolio (ex. office), potential for improved office outcomes and scope to grow funds AUM, though near-term the upside could be limited following recent outperformance," UBS analysts said in a note dated 19 August.

Top ASX 200 Insider Sells

CEOs are Selling

All the above insiders are either CEOs, Managing Directors and/or Founders (except for the last transaction from Bega Cheese). Here are some interesting takeaways:

• Wisetech: Founder Richard White and co-founder Maree Isaacs have been actively selling shares since 2020. In a recent interview with Livewire Markets, Mr White said he was "making a small daily trade, in a very orderly way and reporting it every week ... means that people can see that liquidity is coming to the market." The alternative was a block trade, to which he flagged "I'm unwilling to do that because I want the market to be very calm. A block is very noisy and comes at a big discount and requires a lot of effort to do." Despite this ongoing selldown, Wisetech shares have surged over 350% in the past three years, including numerous all-time highs in the past month.

• Pexa: CEO Glenn King sold approximately 9% of his total shareholding last week. The company's recent FY24 result (21-Aug) was at the top-end of revenue guidance and above at EBITDA. "We continue to see significant upside when further progress is made in the UK, although investors may have to wait ~3-6 months for the next meaningful catalyst. While the top-end of revenue guidance seems optimistic, management will likely manage costs to limit earnings downside," Macquarie analysts said in a note dated 22 August.

• Super Retail Group: CEO Anthony Heraghty sold approximately 18% of his holdings across two transactions last week, coinciding with record share price levels. The company's recent FY24 result was largely in-line with market expectations and included a second consecutive year of special dividends. "An in-line result, but with strong exit rates driving our confidence to increase our LFL sales forecasts. While we see FY25E tracking ahead of our previous expectations, we think this is captured in the current share price," Macquarie analysts said in a note dated 23 August.