It certainly has been an eventful day for the Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price on Thursday.
In morning trade the online furniture retailer's shares stormed 4.5% higher to a record high of $14.00. When its shares peaked at this level, it meant they were up a staggering 430% since the start of the year.
However, in afternoon trade the Temple & Webster share price has given back these gains and more.
At the time of writing the company's shares are down over 2.5% to $13.02.
Image source; Getty Images
What is happening with the Temple & Webster share price today?
Firstly, the storming to a record high has been driven by the company's strong performance during the pandemic thanks to the shift to online shopping.
This led to Temple & Webster recording a 74% increase in revenue to $176.3 million in FY 2020 and a material year on year increase in its operating earnings from $1.5 million to $8.5 million.
Management also revealed that its sales growth was strong early in FY 2021, putting the company in a position to deliver another impressive result.
Since then, the Federal Budget has been announced and tax cuts have been backdated to the start of the financial year. This will put more money in consumers' pockets and could support Temple & Webster's sales growth.
So why are its shares dropping lower now?
Investors have been hitting the sell button this afternoon after the company revealed that its chairman has offloaded the majority of his shares.
Insider sales rarely go down well with the market, especially when it is such a large portion of a director's holding. This is because it is often interpreted as a sign that a share price may have peaked.
According to the release, Stephen Heath has sold 150,000 of his 184,000 shares through an on-market trade on 31 August. Mr Heath received a total of $1,387,845 for the shares.
No explanation was given for why the notice was filed so late. Generally, directors have five days to inform the market of their trades.
