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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) hit another all-time record on Friday, stretching to 8,246.2 points before settling back to 8,215.8 points, up 0.29% at the time of writing.
Seven ASX 200 directors have sold significant portions of their personal shareholdings in the companies they run over the past two weeks.
Director sales can make investors nervous. They worry that perhaps the director is selling down their personal stake because they've lost faith in the company.
This is why companies often issue statements explaining major director sales to reassure investors.
It's worth noting that it's common to see directors trading immediately after earnings season, which was in the month of August.
The timing is beneficial because it helps avoid any appearance of insider trading. All the latest financial information is on the table, so directors see this as an opportune time to make personal trades.
Let's take a look at some recent trades where directors have sold large chunks of ASX 200 shares.
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)
Wisetech shares are trading at $133.11, up 0.91% today and up 74.8% in the year to date.
The co-founder and CEO of this ASX 200 technology company recently sold $46.06 million worth of shares. As my colleague Seb reported, Richard White sold 364,261 Wisetech shares on-market for an average price of $126.44 a share earlier this month. But this is nothing to worry about. White still holds 116,706,769 shares, which represents about 35% of Wisetech's total shares on issue. In other words, he still has plenty of skin in the game!
Fellow co-founder Maree Isaacs also sold 32,393 Wisetech shares for the same price this month, totalling about $4.095 million. She still holds 10,378,641 shares in the ASX 200's biggest tech company.
PEXA Group Ltd (ASX: PXA)
This ASX 200 property share is trading at $14.26, down 0.59% today and up 29.3% in 2024 so far.
This month, PEXA CEO and group managing director Glenn King let 58,176 performance rights lapse and sold 130,000 shares on-market for a total of $1,759,483. This implies an average price of $13.53 per PEXA share. He retains 1,025,637 shares plus performance rights in his portfolio.
Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA)
This ASX 200 energy share is down 0.17% today at $2.88 and down 18% over the year to date.
Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt sold 500,000 shares on-market for a total of approximately $1,389,355 this month. This implies an average price of just under $2.78 per share. In the ASX notice of disposal, the company explained that the sale was made "in order to meet tax obligations".
Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)
The Polynovo share price is trading at $2.84, up 0.61% today and up 46.5% in 2024 so far.
Non-executive director Bruce Rathie sold 750,000 Polynovo shares through his investments company and superannuation fund on-market for a total consideration of $1,886,900. He retains 2.5 million shares.
NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF)
This ASX 200 financial share is trading at $5.81, up 1.57% today and down 21.3% in 2024 so far.
Retiring NIB CEO and managing director Mark Fitzgibbon sold 200,000 shares this month for a total consideration of approximately $1.159 million. The health insurer issued a note explaining the sale was made "to meet a personal income tax obligation".
Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH)
This ASX 200 healthcare stock is trading at $285.37, up 0.3% today and down 5.2% in the year to date.
Earlier this month, Cochlear CEO and President Diggory Howitt exercised some vested options granted under the Cochlear Equity Incentive Plan (CEIP) and sold a corresponding number of shares on-market. Howitt exercised 5,000 options at $206.06 per option and sold 5,000 Cochlear shares at $290.58. He also exercised 2,314 options at $206.06 per option and sold 2,314 shares for $288.92 per share.
