Directors Trades: This anti-snoring device maker needed capital to survive COVID-19; one director put in $3.7m

2020 was looking good for many companies but COVID-19 changed all that. Some have needed capital to keep going and one was sleep apnoea mouthguard maker Somnomed (ASX:SOM).

In February, the company reported solid revenue and operating profit growth and expected more was to come. But the COVID-19 lockdowns means snoring treatments will have to be put on hold because they are not urgent, unless it is somehow connected to the virus itself.

The company announced a $15.5m capital raise and director Hamish Corlett contributed $3.7m of the total. He is a money manager by trade and represents TDM Growth Partners which has been invested in Somnomed since 2010.

Code Company Director Change Date Volume $ What
BCK Brockman Mining Kwai Sze Hoi Buy 24 March 9,108,000 $227,700 On market
PNV PolyNovo David Williams Buy 30 March 100,000 $154,000 On market
AHL AHAlife Arnaud Massenet Buy 31 March 80,000,002 $400,000 Rights Issue
AHL AHAlife Mike Everett Buy 31 March 20,000,000 $100,000 Rights Issue
MNF MNF Group Micharl Boorne Sell 26 March 324,938 $1,462,221 On market
MNF MNF Group Terry Cuthbertson Sell 26 March 65,000 $293,417 On market
BLK Blackham Resources Milan Jerkovic Buy 1 April 31,823,115 $318,231 Rights Issue
MDR Medadvisor Joshua Swinnerton Sell 1 April 10,000,000 $3,300,000 On market
SOM SomnoMed Hamish Corlett Buy 1 April 4,643,319 $3,714,655 Rights Issue
SPT Splitit Brad Paterson Buy 31 March 861,838 $248,582 On market
WAG Wagners Holdings John Wagney Buy 1 April 290,383 $229,403 On market
ACF Acrow Formwork & Construction Services David Moffat Buy 1 April 416,208 $107,239 On market
MAD Mader Group Luke Mader Buy 1 April 1,073,529 $660,000 On market
ADO Anteo Diagnostics John Hamilton Buy 31 March 10,308,139 $154,622 Rights Issue
SUP Superior Lake Resources Grant Davey Buy 7 April 10,272,641 $200,000 Placement
RSG Resolute Mining John Welborn Buy 7 April 300,000 $330,000 Placement
RAN Range International Matthew Derby Sell 8 April 19,098,899 $133,692 Off market
WordPress Table

 

Surface chemistry and coating company Anteo Diagnostics (ASX:ADO) was another company to be rattling the fundraising tin. The campaign left it with $2.15m more in the bank and John Hamilton made up $154,622 of that.

Anteo said it considered this result to be an excellent outcome in light of the present market turbulance.

Micro-cap digital media stock AHAlife Holdings (ASX:AHL) launched a campaign at the end of February seeking $2.8m.

A month on, it had only raised $368,206 from shareholders. But directors Mike Everett and Arnaud Massenet put in $100,000 and $400,000 respectively.

Milan Jerkovic of Blackham Resources (ASX:BLK) put just over $300,000 into this WA-focused gold explorer. It managed to raise $52m all up — although half of this was from February.

 

Going on market

This time last year Splitit (ASX:SPT) was the hottest stock on the market – figuratively and literally. It listed at 20c in January and rose as high as $2 as the buy now, pay later sector took off.

But now analysts have raised concerns people will use them less and bad debts will rack up – this has led to share price drops in the various players.

But CEO Brad Paterson decided to sink a further $248,582 into Splitit.

Chairman of burns-focused biotech PolyNovo’s (ASX:PNV), David Williams, bought $154,000 worth of the company’s stock. PolyNovo’s sales actually rose in the March quarter, by 166 per cent.

On top of this, the company’s product reportedly did well in a CE Mark burn trial and PolyNovo secured a $9.3m credit facility.

 

Sellers

MedAdvisor’s (ASX:MDR) Josh Swinnerton sold 40 per cent of his shares to institutional investors – a $3.3m sale. The company said he had personal financial commitments to meet.

But the company reminded shareholders Swinnerton had not given up on MedAdvisor. In fact, he is moving to the US for the company’s sake.

Range International (ASX:RAN) has plunged 99 per cent since it’s 2016 listing. Founder Matt Darby sold all his shares this week and quit on the same day.

The company said he was moving from Indonesia to New Zealand and revealed he sold his holdings to existing shareholders.

Explore more

Explore more

Investor Guide: Health & Biotech FY2025 featuring Tim Boreham

Read The Guide