Insider Trades: Directors are buying shares in these 14 ASX 200 companies

A summary of director transactions for ASX 200 companies valued at over $10,000 between 27 February to 7 March.

Top insider buys

BlueScope: Cashing in on a V-shaped bounce

BlueScope posted a softer-than-expected first-half FY23 result which triggered a sharp -9.9% selloff on 20 February.

However, the broker response was rather positive. Across 13 sell-side analysts, 9 remained Buy rated and the average price target was lowered by 2.2% to $20.38.

BlueScope managed to recoup its post earnings slump in just seven trading days and the director’s position is now up a cool 9.6%. 

Dicker Data: Durable top-line but no profit growth 

Dicker Data’s recent earnings are comparable to cooking spinach – total revenue for the full year ended 31 December 2022 was up 25% to $3.1 billion but net profits fell 0.7% to $73 million.

The IT hardware and PC market has been in rough waters, with Gartner reporting a 28.5% year-on-year decline in worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“Rising interest rates, inflation and other factors increased our cost of operations with no upside,” noted CEO David Dicker.

The stock fell as much as 23% post earnings, down to a two-and-a-half year low of $8.00 on 28 February.

That’s when Chief Operating Officer Vladimir Mitnovetski started to nibble, buying 30,000 shares ($240,000) at $8.07. That stake is currently up around 5.5%.

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an Overweight rating with a $10.00 target price last week. The note reaffirmed the investment bank’s longer-term thesis surrounding the DDR’s leading position in the ANZ market and the durability of IT spend. 

Allkem: Another post earnings purchase

Lithium stocks are starting to post some pretty crazy comparable figures, with Allkem’s first-half profit up 1,680% to US$222.5 million. However, analysts were even more optimistic, expecting profits to come in at US$250 million.

Allkem’s post earnings price action reflected both the extraordinary profit growth and earnings miss – rallying 3.7% on the day of the result (24 Feb) and falling 6.1% the next day. 

Chairman Peter Coleman purchased approximately 17,000 shares ($198,000) at $11.61, which is currently up around 3.5%.

Across 7 major brokers, there are 5 Buys and 2 Sells, with an average price target of $16.30.

Directors that aren’t winning

Most of the director transactions are in positive territory. However, that’s most likely due to a relief rally for the broader market. The ASX 200 is up around 1.5% since 27 February. 

There are a few stocks that have failed to move with the broader market, including:

• Healius

• Platinum Asset Management

• Commonwealth Bank