Although it is pushing higher on Wednesday, it doesn't hide the fact that the St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price has taken a beating over the last 12 months.
As you can see on the chart below, the gold miner's shares have lost over half their value since this time last year.
Is the St Barbara share price weakness a buying opportunity?
One person that appears to see this weakness as a buying opportunity is the company's managing director and CEO, Andrew Strelein.
According to a change of director's interest notice, Strelein has just picked up 500,000 St Barbara shares through an on-market trade on 29 August.
The notice reveals that the CEO paid an average of 18.75 cents per share, which equates to a total consideration of $93,750.
This purchase increases Strelein's holding by 50% from 1 million shares to 1.5 million shares.
Should you follow suit?
One broker that would be supportive of Strelein's purchase is Macquarie.
According to a note from last week, the broker has responded to the gold miner's FY 2023 results by retaining its outperform rating and 29 cents price target on its shares.
Based on the current St Barbara share price of 19 cents, this implies a potential upside of almost 53% for investors over the next 12 months.
Macquarie highlights that there are a number of positive catalysts on the horizon that could boost its shares. This includes permitting and approvals for Atlantic Gold and the Fifteen Mile Stream pre-feasibility study that is expected in November.
This could make it one to watch if you're looking for exposure to gold outside the big players.
