The Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) share price is having a difficult time.
At one stage today, the ASX 200 gold stock was down 10% to $4.37.
Why is this ASX 200 gold stock being sold off?
There have been a couple of catalysts for this share price weakness.
The first is a pullback in the gold price overnight, which is weighing heavily on the sector today.
For example, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is down 3% at the time of writing.
What else?
Also weighing heavily on this ASX 200 gold stock is news that two of its directors have sold a large number of shares.
According to the announcement, Capricorn Metals' executive chair Mark Clark and non-executive director Mark Okeby sold a portion of their respective shareholdings by way of a fully underwritten block trade at $4.60 per share.
Clark sold 5 million shares for a total consideration of $23 million, whereas Okeby sold 2 million shares for a total consideration of $9.2 million.
While insider selling rarely goes down well with the market, the company has attempted to allay any concerns. It highlights that this is the first time they have sold shares and that they both retain significant shareholdings. It explains:
Both have been directors of Capricorn since July 2019 and have made significant personal investments in Capricorn shares. They have been part of a board and executive team that has overseen the growth of the company from a market capitalisation of approximately $80 million to around $1.8 billion today. This is the first time either director has sold any shares in the company. Mr Clark sold 5 million shares and retains a shareholding of 17.2 million shares (4.5% of the shares on issue). Mr Okeby sold 2 million shares and retains a shareholding of 4.6 million shares.
Mr Clark and Mr Okeby remain significant long-term shareholders of the Company and have no intention to sell any further shares in the medium term. Executive Chairman Mr Clark remains committed to driving the growth of Capricorn with a view to creating a high quality, multi mine Australian gold mining company.
