Polling group YouGov called the result of the London mayoral election closer than anyone else. Is Stephen Shakespeare, its chief executive, now calling the top of the market? He's just sold over a million pounds worth of shares in the company to refinance a personal loan secured against his holding.
Probably not. Mr Shakespeare still holds a sizeable 9.44m shares, representing 9.7 per cent of YouGov, and the sale did little to dampen the ascent of the share price. However, at 15 times this year's forecast profits, they remain no better than a hold for us.
Malar Velaigam
Grant grabs Wolfson shares
Jon Grant, the new non-executive director at semiconductor maker Wolfson Microelectronics, has acquired almost £100,000 worth of shares following his appointment to the board in September last year. Mr Grant, who also sits on the board at set-top-box maker Pace, now has 0.04 per cent interest in the company. His acquisition coincided with the release of Wolfson’s first quarter results which revealed that operating losses in the group had widened significantly to $8.4m, from $3.4m previously. Accordingly, Mr Grant’s purchase did little to lift sentiment around the share price, which have fallen to 186p. With little positive short term impetus, we retain our hold.
Malar Velaigam
Lamprell officers sell ahead of rig contract
Two of Lamprell’s senior management team – Kevin Isles and Scott Doak – realised £128,567 through the sale of 63,400 shares in the company, which provides specialist engineering to the offshore oil and renewable energy markets. The sales followed news that Lamprell had secured a $227m (£142m) contract from an international drilling contractor for the construction of one of its LeTourneau designed jack-up rigs. The new contract will bump up Lamprell's $1.22bn year-end order backlog, whilst serving to highlight the scale benefits achieved through last year’s acquisition of Dubai-based Maritime Industrial Services. The acquisition has substantially increased Lamprell’s manufacturing capacity at a time when new orders are on the rise.
Mark Robinson
Director buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust | R Rae | 01 May 12 | 4,000 | 629.68 | 25,187 |
| Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust | Prof Paul Marsh (ch) | 04 May 12 | 8,000 | 635.08 | 50,806 |
| Altona Energy | Chris Lambert (ch) | 02 May 12 | 100,000 | 4.9 | 4,900 |
| Altona Energy | Chris Schrape (md) | 02 May 12 | 100,000 | 4.9 | 4,900 |
| Densitron Technology | Grahame falconer (ceo) | 04 May 12 | 35,000 | 9.75 | 3,413 |
| DP Poland | Nicholas Donaldson (ch) | 03 May 12 | 22,000 | 45.5 | 10,010 |
| DP Poland | Peter Shaw (ceo) | 03 May 12 | 22,000 | 45.5 | 10,010 |
| Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust | Henry Strutt | 02 May 12 | 25,000 | 288.125 | 72,031 |
| Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust | Henry Strutt | 03 May 12 | 10,500 | 288 | 30,240 |
| Global Energy Development | Mikel Faulkner | 01 May 12 | 10,000 | 102 | 10,200 |
| Hasgrove | Godfrey Taylor (ch) | 04 May 12 | 30,000 | 30.5 | 9,150 |
| Hasgrove | Paul Sanders (ceo) | 04 May 12 | 30,000 | 30.5 | 9,150 |
| Hasgrove | Stephen Collins (fd) | 04 May 12 | 15,000 | 30.5 | 4,575 |
| Hasgrove | Jean Schuybroek | 04 May 12 | 30,000 | 30.5 | 9,150 |
| Hasgrove | Peter Cookson | 04 May 12 | 30,000 | 30.5 | 9,150 |
| Healthcare Locums | Stephen Burke (ceo) | 02 May 12 | 824,087 | 2.4 | 19,778 |
| Healthcare Locums | Mark Andrews | 03 May 12 | 618,055 | 2.4 | 14,833 |
| HydroDec | Andrew Black | 03 May 12 | 3,000,000 | 10.75 | 322,500 |
| Imperial Innovations | Prof David Begg | 01 May 12 | 1,904 | 315 | 5,998 |
| Kofax | Reynolds Bish (ceo) | 04 May 12 | 20,000 | 260 | 52,000 |
| Ladbrokes | Ian Bull | 30 Apr 12 | 20,500 | 180.5/179.7 | 36,926 |
| Lloyds Banking | Sara Weller | 04 May 12 | 50,000 | 32.33 | 16,165 |
| Mission Marketing | Robert Day | 04 May 12 | 38,662 | 28 | 10,825 |
| North Atlantic Smaller | Christopher Mills | 02 May 12 | 7,052 | 985 | 69,462 |
| RusPetro | Dr Rolf Stomberg | 24 Apr 12 | 50,000 | 200 | 100,000 |
| Salamander Energy | John Crowle | 03 May 12 | 50,000 | 212 | 106,000 |
| Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust | Dr L Yueh | 04 May 12 | 812 | 691 | 5,611 |
| Sinclair IS Pharma | Jean-Charles Tschudin | 07 May 12 | 251,160 | E0.33 | E82,883 |
| Somero Enterprises | Jack Cooney (pres ceo) | 03 May 12 | 52,000 | 23.5 | 12,220 |
| Standard Life | Pierre danon | 01 May 12 | 13,400 | 224.75 | 30,117 |
| Taylor Wimpey | Pete Redfern (ceo) | 08 May 12 | 54,957 | 45.49 | 25,000 |
| Taylor Wimpey | Kate Barker | 08 May 12 | 20,000 | 47.51 | 9,502 |
| Wolfson Microelectronics | John Grant | 02 May 12 | 50,000 | 196.9 | 98,450 |
| XP Power | Larry Tracey | 08 May 12 | 4,000 | 1175 | 47,000 |
Director sells
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegis | Harold Mitchell | 20 Apr 12 | 44,562 | 179.50 | 79,989 |
| Aegis | Harold Mitchell | 26 Apr 12 | 98,103 | 175 | 171,680 |
| Aegis | Harold Mitchell | 02 May 12 | 426,538 | 180 | 767,768 |
| Aegis | Harold Mitchell | 03 May 12 | 225,601 | 180 | 406,082 |
| AZ Electronic Materials | Geoffrey Wild | 03 May 12 | 46,000 | 322 | 148,306 |
| Bodycote | Stephen Harris | 04 May 12 | 94,000 | 4.21 | 3,957 |
| Dialight | Gareth Eaton | 03 May 12 | 12,410 | 983 | 121,990 |
| Dialight | Roy Burton | 03 May 12 | 63,371 | 983 | 622,937 |
| Hunting | Dennis Proctor | 01 May 12 | 100,000 | 945 | 945,000 |
| Ladbrokes | Steven Vowles | 01 May 12 | 28,000 | 178.90 | 50,091 |
| Lamprell | Kevin Isles | 01 May 12 | 250,000 | 361.70 | 904,250 |
| Lamprell | Scott Doak | 02 May 12 | 200,000 | 363.69 | 727,386 |
| NMC Health | Saeed Al Qebaisi | 04 May 12 | 2,433,441 | 210 | 5,110,226 |
| NMC Health | Bavagthu Shetty | 04 May 12 | 1,257,591 | 210 | 2,640,941 |
| NMC Health | Khaleefa Al Muhairi | 04 May 12 | 440,158 | 210 | 924,332 |
| Rolls-Royce | Iain Conn | 08 May 12 | 292 | 847.50 | 2,475 |
| YouGov | Stephen Shakespeare (ceo) | 01 May 12 | 1,500,000 | 69.50 | 1,042,500 |
Table compiled by Robert Ansted.
Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director
