In Trading Places, Stockhead analyses the week’s substantial holder filings of ASX small-caps. Substantial shareholders are defined as those holding 5 per cent or more of company’s shares and these could be directors, individual investors or institutional investors.

Shareholders are required to announce to the exchange when their shareholding becomes substantial, when they have ceased to be substantial shareholders or any change in their holdings above 5 per cent.

Buyers

Gold miner Red 5 (ASX: RED) announced to shareholders, St Ives Gold Mining (an Australian subsidiary of New-York listed gold mining giant Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI)) had sold its 19.9 per cent stake in the company last Thursday.

It bought it in October 2017 after Red 5 bought the Darlot Gold Mine from it. According to Red 5, it provided technical and administrative support during the transition. Such a stake would have been worth $12.3 million back in 2017.

Curiously, on the very same day of St Ives’ sale, Regal Funds Management bought an 8.3 per cent stake for $12.4 million. On Monday, Red 5 announced a Reverse Circulation drilling program was under way.

Last week we reported Canadian asset manager 1832 Asset Management had bought an 5.84 per cent stake in gold and lithium miner Exore Resources (ASX: ERX). Now it has sunk its teeth into another small cap. It bought a 5.18 per cent stake in Victorian gold miner Navarre Minerals (ASX: NML) for $1.7 million.

Paradice Investment Management bought a 9.7 per cent stake in uranium miner Peninsula Energy (ASX: PEN) for $6.5 million last Friday.

One concern for Peninusula is a US Department of Commerce (DOC) investigation into uranium imports. On Tuesday Peninsula announced the US DOC had submitted a report to the White House and the US President has 90 days to decide to take action on it.

As we reported on Monday, Joseph Mizikovsky bought 24 per cent of Astivita (ASX: AIR), which would have cost $3.8 million at 30 cents per share. He shares a surname with chairman Lev Mizikovsky, who sold $930,000 of the company.

Intrepid Mines (ASX: IAU) has continued to chip away at AIC Resources (ASX: A1C), going from 80 per cent to 90 per cent as of yesterday. S&G Hiscock increased its stake in Canberra-based cyber security company Archtis (ASX: AR9) from 7.37 per cent to 8.95 per cent.

IOOF has increased its stake in Otto Energy (ASX: OEL) from 8.20 per cent to 11.56 per cent and in Revasum (ASX: RVS) from 11.09 per cent to 12.21 per cent, forking out $3 million and $1.3 million respectively in the last few months.

New York and Sydney based TDM Asset Management increased its stake from 19.99 per cent to 21.98 per cent in Pacific Smiles (ASX: PSQ). TDM seems to investments in mainly tech companies (Wotif is one such example) but it proudly displays Pacific Smiles on its website and paid nearly $3.5 million to increase its stake.

Sometimes in capital raisings a directors’ stake can decline even if they participate. But Alta Zinc (ASX: AZI) director Alexander Burns bought $627,000 so his stake went up from 18.39 per cent to 19.41 per cent.

 

Sellers

Mining investor Tribeca sold $1.5 million of First Cobalt (ASX: FCC) stock on Monday after selling $563,000 in the previous week. Its stake was 6.15 per cent in February and prior to that the stake was held on the Toronto Stock Exchange and converted to ASX shares in an off-market transfer.

One holder that did not participate in the recent Alta Zinc (ASX: AZI) capital raising was Westoz Funds Management. It who sat out and lost its substantial holder position, and now only holds 4.3 per cent. However, it had sold $45,000 in the last year, a small amount in the context of fund managers but enough to contribute to its loss of substantial position.

MetalsX ceased to be a substantial holder in Brainchip (ASX: BRN). It had a 7.10 per cent stake back in 2016, when it last updated the ASX, but had been progressively selling shares – its sales were $752,000 last month.

Regal sold $2 million in Rhipe (ASX: RHP) shares, reducing its stake from 7.14 per cent to 6.13 per cent. Boston-based fund manager, Wellington Management, reduced its stake in Karoon Energy (ASX: KAR) from 7.35 per cent to 6.32 per cent.

A reduced stake through a placement despite buying more shares happened to four substantial holders in DGO Gold (ASX: DGO) – although they remained substantial holders. Thomas Klinger, Peter Woodford, Bruce Parncutt and John Barlow held 60.7 per cent of the company between them but now hold 54.6 per cent.

 

Are the DGO investors directors?

Only Parncutt is a director of DGO Gold. Woodford is a former director at JBWere and invested through his company Cairnglen Investments.

According to Bloomberg, Cairnglen also owns 14.87 per cent of New South Wales explorer Platina Resources (ASX: PGM) – worth $1.9 million; as well as smaller stakes in a handful of other small cap miners.

Thomas Klinger’s company, Ginga has a substantial portfolio too including a $8.9 million stake in well known large-cap tech stock Appen (ASX: APN), a stake bought back in 2016 when its substantial hike was beginning.

The rest of Ginga’s portfolio comprises of small caps, mainly miners. Barlow’s company, Andama, only has a $1.7 million portfolio with a handful of miners.

Woodford, Klinger and Barlow all previously participated in the last capital raising, in May 2018, chipping in $1 million each. DGO’s chairman Eduard Eshuys spent $400,000 last time but appears to have sat out of this one.