In a week that mark almost a year to the day equity markets began the climb back from the COVID-19 crash, 34 directors made trades above $100,000.

The buyers ranged from COVID beneficiaries eyeing growth to companies still lagging and eyeing off a recovery.

Code Company Director Change Date Volume $ What
ZBT Zebit Miriam Rivera Buy 5 March 528,204 $596,617 On market
CUP CountPlus Raymond Kellerman Buy 5 March 250,000 $312,500 On market
AJY Asaplus Resources Ding Poi Bor Buy 9 February 10,000,000 $500,000 Off market
DBI Dalyrmple Bay Infrastructure Anthony Timbrell Buy 5 March 360,000 $719,974 On market
MTO MotorCycle Holdings David Ahmet Buy 2 March 100,000 $238,000 On market
MTO MotorCycle Holdings Robert Cassen Buy 2 March 50,000 $119,000 On market
MAD Mader Group Craig Burton Buy 9 March 200,000 $180,959 On market
RDY ReadyTech Mark Summerhayes Buy 5 March 116,006 $208,449 On market
ALG Ardent Leisure Group Brad Richmond Buy 10 Mar 190,000 $122,322 On mrket
CGS Cogstate Bradley O'Connor Sell 9 March 2,250,000 $2,025,000 On market
BSE Base Resources Colin Bwye Buy 10 March 896,820 $283,036 On market
TKM Trek Metals Tony Leibowitz Buy 10 March 5,833,333 $350,000 Placement
IVC InvoCare Richard Davis Buy 15 March 30,000 $335,000 On market
DDR Dicker Data Vladimir Mitnovetski Sell 12 March 231,444 $2,575,972 On market
ZBT Zebit Miriam Rivera Buy 11 March 471,796 $562,244 On market
CLB Candy Club James Baillieu Buy 9 March 755,657 $188,918 On market
CCX City Chic Collective Michael Kay Buy 9 March 40,906 $151,138 On market
BET BetMakers Nicholas Chan Sell 10 March 400,000 $367,910 On market
BET BetMakers Simon Dulhunty Sell 12 March 1300000 $1,248,000 Off market
QFE QuickFee Bruce Coombes Buy 15 March 300,000 $102,000 On market
VEA Viva Energy Group Scott Wyatt Buy 12 March 75,000 $131,316 On market
ANO Advance Nanotek Lev Mizikovsky Buy 15 March 39,200 $156,800 Off market
ANO Advance Nanotek Geoff Acton Sell 15 March 46,700 $186,800 Off market
SRV ServCorp Alfred Moufarrige Buy 10 March 50,000 $170,500 Off market
KME Kip McGrath Education Centres Storm McGrath Sell 11 March 69,265 $103,897 On market
AQZ Alliance Aviation Scott McMillan Sell 15 March 531,025 $2,212,836 Off market
AUK AuMake Jacky Yang Buy 17 March 1,666,667 $100,000 Placement
AUK AuMake Keong Chan Buy 17 March 1,666,667 $100,000 Placement
AUK AuMake Quentin Flannery Buy 17 March 8,333,333 $500,000 Placement
MCP McMillan Shakespeare John Bennetts Sell 17 March 126,352 $1,469,133 On market
NEA Nearmap Peter James Sell 15 March 382,075 $809,999 On market
MNF MNF Group Andy Fung Sell 17 March 2,168,249 $10,955,052 On market
CCG Comms Group Peter McGrath Buy 16 March 1,574,175 $114,915 On market
CLB Candy Club James Baillieu Buy 12 March 422,810 $100,856 On market
Wordpress Table Plugin

 

Buyers from companies seeking a recovery

One company in the latter category, at least from a share price perspective is AuMake (ASX:AUK), which has never recovered since our borders closed to China. This is because China is its core market – AuMake has run stores focused on the daigou trade.

With the borders closed it has sought to reach Chinese consumers through online platforms and claims to have been successful but shares have still lagged.

The company undertook a capital raising in which three directors made big buys. Keong Chan and Jacky Yang bought $100,000 each while Quentin Flannery bought $500,000.

Venue operator Ardent Leisure (ASX:ALG) suffered too, dropping from $1.63 to 18 cents between late January and late March 2020. It has recovered somewhat – reaching 87 cents on Friday. Brad Richmond bought $122,322 in shares on market.

One surprise laggard is funeral provider InvoCare (ASX:IVC) which has seen revenues fall through the double whammy of restrictions and deaths actually going down. InvoCare’s Richard Davis bought $335,000 on market.

Ecommerce play Zebit (ASX:ZBT) saw two big buys from Miriam Rivera – $596,617 on March 5 and $562,244 on March 11. The group has lagged since its ASX listing despite continuing to perform amidst COVID-19.

Service office provider Servcorp (ASX:SRV) saw a $170,500 buy from founder Alfred Moufarrige.

This industry has had a difficult 12 months with people working from home but the company told shareholders it remained optimistic thanks to its virtual office offerings.

 

Buyers from COVID beneficiaries

Other companies were able to thrive through COVID, with some examples being niche retailers.

One was plus-size fashion retailer City Chic Collective (ASX:CCX) whose director Michael Kay bought $151,138 on market.

City Chic was able to grow its sales and even its ecommerce assets thanks to lockdowns and a notable bankruptcy in the industry.

Another was Motorcycle Holdings (ASX:MTO) which owns several motorbike and motorbike accessory dealerships across Australia. It saw strong trading when stores re-opened.

Two of its directors chipped in big – David Ahmet, who bought $238,000, and Robert Cassen who bought $119,000.

Candy supplier Candy Club (ASX:CLB) lagged for many months after its ASX listing but has recovered since pivoting to the business to business space.

Chairman James Baillieu bought two $100k+ parcels of shares in the last two weeks – $188,918 and $100,856.

 

Sellers

While the majority of traders were buyers, the sellers made up a high volume of the trades.

Leading the pack was Andy Fung from communications tech stock MNF Group (ASX:MNF) who parted with over $10 million in shares.

The company said the trade was “to facilitate the purchase of property assets and to satisfy personal tax obligations”.

Vladimir Mitnovetski from data services stock Dicker Data (ASX:DDR) was next, selling $2.5 million to purchase a house.

Scott McMillan, from charter flight operator and aircraft lessor Alliance Aviation (ASX:AQZ) also parted with over $2 million of shares in an off-market trade.

Nicholas Chan and Simon Dulhunty of BetMakers (ASX:BET) sold $367,910 and $1,248,000 respectively.

While a reason for the trade was not given, the announcement was accompanied with a statement from CEO Todd Buckingham noting the pair hadn’t sold shares since joining six years ago and remained committed to the next phase of the company’s growth.

Featured Companies

You might be interested in