One of the biggest exploration success stories of the decade prior to COVID-19 was copper play Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR).

A struggling explorer at the time the GFC hit, it stumbled across the DeGrussa copper-gold deposit and is now a $2 billion producer.

It was founded in the early 2000s by prospector Graeme Hutton, mining entity Miles Kennedy and Karl Simich.

Simich is still with the company today and he recently bought another $1.6 million in shares in a rights issue, one of the few conducted by the company in the past decade.

In total, five Sandfire directors participated but only one other exceeded $100,000 – John Richards, a relative newcomer having joined in January this year.

Code Company Director Change Date Volume $ What
IMU Imugene Lesley Russell Sell 6 October 3,200,000 $1,360,000 On market
WTC WiseTech Michael Gregg Buy 8 October 5,468 $282,586 Dividend Reinvestment Plan
RHI Red Hill Iron Joshua Pitt Buy 12 October 250,000 $500,000 Off market
CLB Candy Club Keith Cohn Sell 10 October 2,500,000 $450,000 Off market
TTM Titan Minerals Nicholas Rowley Buy 8 October 3,150,000 $315,000 On market
EXP Experience Kerry East Buy 12 October 476,385 $157,207 Rights Issue
BDC Bardoc Gold Tony Leibowitz Buy 12 October 3,000,000 $176,800 On market
MME MoneyMe Scott Emery Sell 13 October 1,700,000 $3,354,892 Off market
MCA Murray Cod Australia Ross Anderson Buy 14 October 8,969,236 $3,318,617 Off market
EGY Energy Technologies Anthony Smith Buy 14 October 7,395,397 $813,499 Rights Issue
EGY Energy Technologies Matthew Driscoll Buy 14 October 3,559,679 $391,565 Rights Issue
FFI FFI Holdings Geoffrey Nicholson Sell 14 Oct 50,724 $371,807 On market
TCL Transurban Louis Charlton Buy 18 October 67,477 $877,201 Rights Issue
AFL AF Legal Glen Dobbie Buy 18 October 500,000 $200,000 Off market
PGH Pact Group Raphael Geminder Buy 13 October 250,000 $732,350 On market
SEK Seek Andrew Bassat Sell 19 October 1,500,000 $47,880,000 Off market
SFR Sandfire Resources Karl Simich Buy 20 October 300,000 $1,620,000 Rights Issue
SFR Sandfire Resources John Richards Buy 20 October 20,000 $108,000 Rights Issue
RMY RMA Global David Williams Buy 20 October 930,569 $172,826 On market
DUG DUG Technology Matthew Lamont Buy 20 October 233,333 $210,000 Placement
WGX Westgold Resources Peter Cook Buy 15 October 133,384 $210,746 Dividend Reinvestment Plan
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Other buyers

One other large cap stock with a big buy from a director was Transurban (ASX:TCL), which operates toll roads.

It recently conducted a rights issue to fund the purchase of the NSW Government’s remaining stake in the WestConnex project. Louis Charlton bought over $700,000, and three other directors chipped in below $100,000.

But the biggest buy came from Ross Anderson who hails from Murray Cod Australia (ASX:MCA) which breeds, grows and exports fish. He bought just over $3 million in MCA shares in an off-market transaction.

If you’ve been a long term MCA shareholder, it’s fair to say you’ve had a wild ride – from lows such as having to reassure investors it wasn’t affected by the Murray River fish kills in 2019 to highs such as being backed by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.

But it’s been good times for the company as of late. Its share price has doubled in 12 months and it has either recommenced or expects to recommence exports in several major export markets.

Another company with few other comparable stocks on the ASX is DUG Technology (ASX:DUG) which is in the business of supercomputers.

Dug’s boss Matthew Lamont bought in to the tune of almost $210,000 in a placement.

One of the ASX’s few stocks in the legal space is AF Legal (ASX:AFL). Director Glen Dobbie chipped in $200,000 off-market.

Buying as part of dividend reinvestment plans were Michael Gregg from WiseTech (ASX:WTC) who topped up his holdings by just over $280,000  and Peter Cook of Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) who bought just over $210,000.

 

Sellers

The biggest sale came from the boss of Seek (ASX:SEK), Andrew Basset, who sold over $47 million in shares.

But the company told shareholders the proceeds would be put back into the company – specifically the Seek Growth Fund.

While the Seek Growth Fund hasn’t yet made major investments, it has raised nearly $500 million in capital which includes Basset’s commitment.

Scott Emery, co-founder of MoneyMe (ASX:MME), sold just over $3 million to complete a property purchase.

And Lesley Russell from biotech Imugene (ASX:IMU) sold just over $1.3 million in an on-market trade.