Insider Trades: An ASX small cap caught in aggressive insider buying

Welcome back to the Insider Trades Series – A summary of on-market director transactions valued at more than $10,000 that have taken place between 22-28 December 2023.

ASX 200 Trades

Liontown Chief Executive Tony Ottaviano sold roughly 820,000 shares citing the need to "satisfy personal tax obligations in respect of converted FY22 Short Term Incentive and Sign-On performance rights." Ottaviano beneficially owns 4.1 million shares following the transaction. This represents the first insider sales since August 2022.

Small-to-Mid Cap Trades

Intelligent Monitoring Group is experiencing substantial accumulation from Non-Executive Director Peter David Kennan. He is also the Chief Executive of Black Crane Capital, a catalyst and activist deep value fund.

IMB provides monitored security, fire and 'Internet of Things' solutions that ensure the safety and protection of Australian businesses, homes and individuals.

I have two interesting takeaways from this.

#1 Kennan and Black Crane Capital were significant accumulators of MMA Offshore (ASX: MRM). He started accumulating shares in March 2020 at $0.095 and later sold a portion at $0.70 in November 2022 and the remaining stake at $1.05 in April 2023. The exit also marked his resignation as a Non-Executive Director of MMA Offshore. His exit was a rather bitter sweet one.

"Despite facing a prolonged challenging period, the Company has repaired its balance sheet and successfully transitioned into an integrated service provider across multiple markets," said Kennan.

"The Black Crane Asia Pacific Opportunities Fund has now attained its targeted investment returns from MMA ... Notwithstanding the divestment by the fund, I am very optimistic about MMA's future prospects and I wish the Company future success as it capitalises on the recovery in conventional offshore energy markets and the boom in offshore wind."

#2 Kennan's IMB buys drove pretty much all of the stock's recent volume. IMB averaged around 60,000 volume in early to mid November – So its a fairly thinly traded and illiquid stock. The recent buys from Kennan have been in parcels of between ~250,000 to ~700,000 shares. It's fair to say that this buying has helped propel the share price.