Insider Trades: Directors bought and sold these 6 ASX stocks last week
Mesoblast shares have soared almost 1,000% in the past twelve months. But one insider is still buying.
Source: iStock
Mentioned
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 15 and 21 January. Directors have up to 5 business days to notify the ASX of their trades.
The volume of director transactions has been relatively low ahead of February reporting season. The only large cap transaction that took place was from ANZ (a bank which reports its half-year results in May). Given the lack of transactions, we'll be taking a look at some of the higher-value trades from the small-to-mid cap space.
Large Cap Insider Trades
Code | Company | Date | Director | Type | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ANZ | 20/01/25 | Sell | $29.50 | $218,211 |
Top ASX Insider Buys
Code | Company | Date | Director | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mesoblast | 16/01/2025 | US$16.70 | US$506,214 | ||
Patriot Lithium | 17/01/2025 | $0.05 | $59,311 | ||
S2 Resources | 15/01/2025 | $0.08 | $33,420 |
Interesting Takeaways
Mesoblast's Non-Executive Director Eric Rose bought a sizeable chuck of the company's US-listed shares. The timing of this trade is interesting given the recent series of events.
2024 marked a major turnaround for Mesoblast, with the stock up around 585% for the year-to-December 18
On 19 December 2024, the FDA approved the company's Ryoncil (remestemcel-L) product, the first FDA-approved therapy for children aged 2 months and older, with steroid refractory acute graft versus host disease, a life threatening condition with high morality rates. The stock finished the session 54% higher to a fresh four-year high
Mesoblast successfully raised $260 million on Tuesday, 14 January 2025, through a global private placement at $2.05 per share, a 10.8% discount to its previous close. The placement was predominantly supported by its existing shareholders in the US, UK, and Australia. The stock finished the session down 9.2%
Mesoblast has enjoyed a significant rally over the past 12 months, driven by growing investor interest in biotech stocks, positive announcements, and the crucial FDA approval. Despite this strong performance, a Non-Executive Director has shown confidence by purchasing additional shares around multi-year highs.
Top ASX Insider Sells
Code | Company | Date | Director | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Botanix Pharmaceuticals | 15/01/2025 | $0.44 | $1,672,000 | ||
VONEX | 16/01/2025 | $0.04 | $411,601 | ||
Latin Resources | 21/01/2025 | $0.17 | $340,000 | ||
Latin Resources | 21/01/2025 | $0.17 | $170,000 | ||
Latin Resources | 21/01/2025 | $0.17 | $170,000 | ||
VONEX | 15/01/2025 | $0.04 | $95,522 |
Interesting Takeaways
Botanix shares have surged approximately 160% over the past year, driven by positive clinical trial results and FDA approval for its flagship product, Sofdra, which treats excessive sweating. On 8 January, the company’s President and Executive Chairman, Vince Ippolito, exercised 8 million shares, later selling nearly half (3.8 million shares) of those exercised.
Latin Resources shares were suspended at the close of trading on Wednesday, 22 January, ahead of its planned merger with Pilbara Minerals. Several directors, including Managing Director Christopher Gale, Non-Executive Chairman David Vilensky, and Non-Executive Director Brent Jones, exercised outstanding options and sold a small portion of their holdings near the suspension date.
