Insider Trades: Directors load up on shares in 11 ASX 200 companies
A summary of noteworthy ASX 200 director transactions between 6-14 March.
Source: iStock
Mentioned
KEY POINTS
- Harvey Norman's Co-founder Gerry Harvey has purchased $20.7 million worth of shares so far in March
- APM Human Services founder Megan Wynne makes the company's first director purchase since its November 2021 IPO
- Bapcor directors have made 19 on-market trades since 2021
A summary of noteworthy S&P/ASX 200 director transactions between 6-14 March.
Top large cap insider buys
Code | Company | Date | Director | Type | Price | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harvey Norman | 7/03/2023 | Gerald Harvey | Buy | $3.85 | $4,193,012 | On-market trade | |
Harvey Norman | 6/03/2023 | Gerald Harvey | Buy | $3.82 | $3,592,116 | On-market trade | |
Harvey Norman | 8/03/2023 | Gerald Harvey | Buy | $3.85 | $2,502,565 | On-market trade | |
Harvey Norman | 9/03/2023 | Gerald Harvey | Buy | $3.86 | $2,393,944 | On-market trade | |
APM Human Services | 3/03/2023 | Megan Wynne | Buy | $2.35 | $1,985,224 | On-market trade | |
Bapcor | 7/03/2023 | Mark Bernhard | Buy | $6.630 | $66,300 | On-market trade | |
Breville Group | 10/03/2023 | Lawrence Myers | Buy | $19.26 | $577,785 | On-market trade | |
Whitehaven Coal | 8/03/2023 | Wallis Graham | Buy | $7.13 | $85,600 | On-market trade | |
ASX | 6/03/2023 | Heather Smith | Buy | $67.34 | $67,343 | On-market trade | |
Bapcor | 3/03/2023 | Kathryn Spargo | Buy | $6.48 | $64,750 | On-market trade | |
Baby Bunting | 3/03/2023 | Gary Levin | Buy | $2.02 | $60,600 | On-market trade | |
G8 Education | 6/03/2023 | Peter Trimble | Buy | $1.22 | $30,500 | On-market trade | |
Regis Resources | 6/03/2023 | Paul Arndt | Buy | $1.74 | $29,962 | On-market trade | |
Cochlear | 6/03/2023 | Michael del Prado | Buy | $150.58 | $19,877 | On-market trade | |
Allkem | 6/03/2023 | Florencia Heredia | Buy | $8.52 | $19,849 | On-market trade |
Interesting observations
Harvey Norman: Mr Harvey walks the walk
In March alone, co-founder and executive chairman of Harvey Norman, Gerry Harvey purchased six parcels worth a collective $20.7 million.
Harvey has strongly defended the company's half-year results, arguing that the retailer has the balance sheet strength to withstand economic headwinds. The interim result said otherwise, with first-half profits down 15.1% and January 2023 sales for Australian franchisees falling 10.2% against the prior period.
From a broker perspective, Goldman Sachs retained a BUY rating for the stock with a $4.70 target price. Some key takeaways from the note include:
2H23 sales are expected to continue to decline, while "tactical support and higher promotions will further pressure EBIT margins."
Despite a disappointing 1H23, a Buy rating was retained due to high property valuations (~$3.3 per share at average book value or 70% of the company's market cap)
Harvey Norman trades at approximately 6x FY24 price-to-earnings vs. JB Hi-Fi which trades at 14.5x
APM Human Services: Another founder purchase
APM listed in November 2021 at an offer price of $3.55 per share. During this time, executive chair and founder Megan Wynne was also instructed to sell approximately $71.3 million shares at the offer price.
Wynn's almost $2 million purchase represents the company's first director buy since November 2021.
On Monday, APM shares hit an all-time low of $2.13, down 40% from its offer price. The $2 million stake is down around 7% from her entry price.
Bapcor: Lots of buying
Bapcor's directors have been accumulating shares in mostly $20,000 to $80,000 blocks for more than two years.
Since 2021, there's been 19 on-market trades by various directors worth a collective $1.13 million at a weighted average price of $6.86.
That's approximately 7.6% below Bapcor's current share price of $6.40 (but the stock has also paid out 52 cents worth of dividends since 2021).
