Insider Trades: Pilbara Minerals, CSL and 4 other stocks insiders are selling
Four ASX 200 directors each sold more than $3 million worth of shares in the past week.
Source: iStock
Mentioned
KEY POINTS
- Andrew Alcock, CEO of Hub24, and Bruce Higgins, Chairman of the Board, sold a collective ~$16 million worth of shares since August 23
- Champion Iron Executive Chairman William O'Keeffe is selling into recent strength
- Pilbara Minerals CEO Dale Henderson has reduced his overall holdings by 1.2 million shares
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
Code | Company | Date | Director | Type | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Champion Iron | 31/08/23 | Sell | $5.95 | $11,900,000 | ||
Hub24 | 30/08/23 | Sell | $31.50 | $7,875,000 | ||
Pilbara Minerals | 1/09/23 | Sell | $4.80 | $5,761,000 | ||
Bluescope Steel | 1/09/23 | Sell | $21.32 | $3,096,156 | ||
CSL | 1/09/23 | Sell | $268.60 | $365,563 | ||
REA Group | 31/08/23 | Sell | $165.24 | $330,476 |
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).
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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.
%20Share%20Price%20-%20Market%20Index.png)
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.
%20Share%20Price%20-%20Market%20Index.png)
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.
%20Share%20Price%20-%20Market%20Index.png)
Bluescope 12-month price chart (Source: Market Index)
