Insider Trades: Directors bought and sold shares in these 9 ASX 200 stocks 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 22-28 May 2025. Directors have up to 5 business days to notify the ASX of their trades.

Top ASX 200 Insider Transactions

Key takeaways

Northern Star's CEO, Stuart Tonkin, has been gradually selling shares since 2022, with a recent sale of 200,000 shares ($4.0 million) reducing his beneficial holdings to 100,000 shares. This comes at a pivotal moment following the company’s acquisition of De Grey Mining in early May, which Goldman Sachs estimates will enhance Northern Star’s portfolio. The acquisition is expected to double the five-year production CAGR from approximately 5% to 10% over FY25–30, while reducing group all-in sustaining costs by 5%.

As of May 6, Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating with a $22.30 target price, noting, “Northern Star is trading at ~0.85x NAV, pricing gold at US$2,550/oz, with near-term free cash flow yields of 8–10%, supporting ongoing capital management through dividends and potential buy-back extensions.” The stock has performed strongly, rising 36% year-to-date and 47% over the past twelve months. However, Tonkin’s share sales, despite holding approximately 1.89 million shares in performance rights, may raise some eyebrows given the favorable gold price environment and the company’s strategic progress.

Nufarm shares plummeted 30% in a single day last month after a disappointing half-year FY25 result, driven by significant underperformance in its Seeds division and declining fish oil prices. This led to a $28 million inventory writedown and the withdrawal of prior revenue targets. The company’s net debt/EBITDA ratio rose to 4.5x, well above internal targets, raising concerns about balance sheet health and potential capital-raising needs.

Macquarie analysts sharply reduced their earnings forecasts for FY25, FY26, and FY27 by 93%, 59%, and 42%, respectively, citing weaker seed earnings and higher costs. This prompted a target price cut from $4.11 to $3.20. Analysts noted, “The stock saw a significant negative reaction (-30% on May 21). Balance sheet risks have increased with first half gearing at 4.5x, and the earnings outlook remains uncertain due to volatile fish oil prices, dry Australian weather, and tariff risks. A potential sale of the Seeds division could provide value discovery and balance sheet relief, but the process may take six months or more.”

CEO Gregory Hunt recently purchased a small parcel at $2.56, but the stock has continued to slide, currently trading at $2.33, leaving his new position down approximately 8.5%.

Dicker Data’s CFO accumulated a small parcel last week, following a 5.8% selloff on May 20 triggered by a year-to-date (January 1 to April 30) FY25 trading update. The update reported:

• Gross sales up 17.4% to $1.11 billion.

• Year-to-date gross margins slightly below full-year FY25 expectations, driven by a higher contribution from enterprise sales.

• EBITDA in line with the prior period, impacted by lower gross margins.

• Profit before tax broadly flat, up 0.3% year-on-year.

UBS analysts commented, “Our positive outlook on Dicker Data was driven by the PC refresh cycle supporting sales growth through CY25, but we underestimated the shift toward larger enterprise deals and their impact on gross margins.” Despite this, they view the stock as attractive, trading at 16x CY26 P/E (below its long-term average of ~18x), particularly given the current interest rate cycle. UBS retained a Buy rating but adjusted their target price upward from $9.30 to $10.20.