Earnings season is a common time of year for ASX 300 company directors to trade shares for their own investment portfolios.
This is because ASX listing rules encourage directors to delay personal trades until shortly after releasing their major financial reports.
It's a good time to trade because all the latest financial results are on the table for all of us to see.
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Go big or go home ASX REIT buy-up
The biggest insider buy so far this earnings season appears to be a $42 million ASX 300 REIT buy-up.
David Di Pilla, the managing director and CEO of the Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT (ASX: HCW) bought 31,912,867 shares in the real estate investment trust (REIT) this month.
Di Pilla paid an average price of $1.335. This on-market trade was worth $42.6 million and change.
The ASX 300 REIT explained the trade as follows:
As announced on 2 May 2023, HMC entered into a cash settled total return swap with Macquarie Bank Limited in respect of 31,912,867 units (TRS). HMC has now unwound the TRS and retained exposure to those units by acquiring them directly on market.
The acquisition was approved by HCW unitholders pursuant to Resolution 3 at the HCW Extraordinary General Meeting held on 24 July 2023.
The Healthco Healthcare and Wellness REIT share price was up 1.85%, trading at $1.375 at the close on Thursday.
Other major ASX 300 insider buys in February
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)
Founder and managing director Jamie Pherous bought 87,500 Corporate Travel Management shares this month in an on-market trade worth just shy of $1.4 million. He paid an average price of $15.98 for the ASX 300 travel stock. This is the first time Pherous has traded in the travel share in two-and-a-half years.
The Corporate Travel Management share price closed 0.51% higher at $15.92 on Thursday.
ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX)
ASX chair Damian Roche snapped up 10,000 shares in the market operator this month, buying at an average price of $64.363. His total investment was $643,628.
The ASX share price was up 0.94% to $65.75 in afternoon trading.
Nico Resources Ltd (ASX: NC1)
Nico Resources non-executive chair Peter Cook invested $300,000 in purchasing two million shares in the ASX 300 nickel miner. He paid an average price of 15 cents apiece. Nickel was added to the Critical Minerals List this month amid a massive and growing supply coming out of Indonesia, where China is funding the rapid development of mines.
The Nico Resources share price closed 2.86% higher at 18 cents.
IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)
IGO managing director and CEO Ivan Vella purchased 41,500 IGO shares on-market at an average price of $7.274 this month. This investment in the nickel and lithium producer totalled $301,852. IGO chair Michael Nossal also upped his holdings by 25,000 shares, paying an average price of $7.234 per share or $180,840 in total.
The IGO share price was down 2.46% to $7.94 at the close on Thursday.
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
Non-executive director Michael McCormack bought 30,000 Whitehaven shares this month in an on-market trade worth just over $214,000. He paid an average of $7.144 for the ASX 300 coal stock.
The Whitehaven share price closed 1.57% lower at $6.92 on Thursday.
