Insider Trades: Pilbara Minerals, CSL and 4 other stocks insiders are selling

Welcome back to the Insider Trades Series – We're continuing to see some sizeable post-reporting season transactions from ASX 200 directors.

The data below observes on-market ASX 200 director sales valued at more than $10,000 between 31 August and 5 September 2023.

Top ASX 200 Director Sells

Transaction Recap

Champion Iron: Q1 production results came out 28 July, where shares slipped 2.7%. Canadian forest fires impacted top-line sales but overall result showcased the company's resilience and expectations of a gradual recovery in the upcoming quarters. Many institutions retain a positive outlook due to the company's exposure to premium iron ore, high-quality assets, growth potential and low jurisdictional risk. The stock has rallied around 20% from 16 August lows to 4 September, where Executive Chairman sold 2 million shares but retains approximately 43 million shares or 8.3% of the company (as at 31 August).

Champion Iron 12-month price chart (Source: Market Index)

Hub24: CEO Andrew Alcock and Chairman of the Board Bruce Higgins have sold a collective ~$16 million worth of shares since 23 August. The stock is up around 15% since its full-year results on 21 August.

Hub24 12-month price chart (Source: Market Index)

Pilbara Minerals: CEO Dale Henderson sold 1.2 million shares post-earnings, lowering his direct exposure (ex options) to just 934,000 shares. The recent FY23 results flagged FY24 volume guidance which was 4% below Citi expectations and the $875-975m capex guidance was a big surprise against the $530m consensus. Recent lithium headlines have been relatively mixed with deteriorating prices and bearish sentiment vs. Albemarle's $6.6bn takeover offer for Liontown Resources.

Pilbara Minerals 12-month price chart (Source: Market Index)

Bluescope: CEO Mark Vassella's sell marks the company's first insider trade since September 2022 (which was also him selling). On 21 August, BSL shares rose 3.5% after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings and guidance. A clear standout was its Australian Steel Products segment which was offset by concerns with a weaker performance at the North Star segment, which is facing mounting costs and ramp-up challenges on its capex plans. Vassella's sale back in September 2022 was not necessarily a bearish signal, with the stock down 4.6% a month later, up 6.5% three months later and up 17.8% six months later.

Bluescope 12-month price chart (Source: Market Index)