Weir (WEIR) is a favourite with short-sellers, amid concerns about the valve and pump maker's exposure to shale drilling in the US. However, the smell of burnt fingers engulfed the City a few weeks ago following a decent set of full-year results. Weir's share price had risen 14 per cent since the preliminaries and by three-quarters in the past nine months. That rally has now flushed out a couple of sellers and, curiously, both have been presidents of SPM, the major part of Weir's US fracking operation.
Gavin Nicol, director of operations support and development, blinked first, selling out at 2,216p straight after the results. A patient Steve Noon, who runs the oil and gas division, held on and has just sold a £700,000 stake at 2,399p a share. The remainder is currently worth £1.8m, but, given a boost from the weak pound and prospects at its minerals division, that nest egg should grow.
Lee Wild
Follow Lee and turn Yellow
Big Yellow's (BYG) long-time operations director, Adrian Lee, has cashed in 60,000 shares at 377p each, raising over £226,000. That still leaves him with some 776,000 shares worth nearly £3m.
The self-storage company raised £37m of new equity in January to accelerate its plan to reduce debt. It is interesting to note that Mr Lee's name was not among those board members that subscribed to the fund-raising, suggesting he may be looking to reduce his stake in the business.
We used the equity issue as an excuse to downgrade our recommendation from buy to hold (370p, 23 Jan 2013) after strong gains. Big Yellow is a well-run company with a very defendable position in an attractive market. But the shares have risen 24 per cent over the past year and, at 380p, now trade on nearly 20 times earnings. Mr Lee's decision to sell merely reinforces our view that the shares are due a pause.
Stephen Wilmot
Buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Total shares held | Value (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acal | Richard Brooman | 11 Mar 13 | 4,000 | 239.5 | 9,580 | 4,000 | 0.01 |
| Aga Rangemaster | William McGrath | 08 Mar 13 | 26,270 | 86.83 | 22,810 | 212,726 | 0.307 |
| Aga Rangemaster | Shaun Smith | 08 Mar 13 | 15,420 | 86.83 | 13,389 | 156,897 | 0.277 |
| Aga Rangemaster | John Coleman | 07 Mar 13 | 11,510 | 86.83 | 9,994 | 16,510 | 0.024 |
| Aviva | Michael Hawker | 07 Mar 13 | 5,000 | 316.2 | 15,810 | 10,000 | - |
| Aviva | Gay Evans | 08 Mar 13 | 5,000 | 330.4 | 16,520 | 5,000 | - |
| Biotech Growth Trust | Dr John Gordon | 04 Mar 13 | 10,000 | 350.25 | 35,025 | 70,000 | 0.11 |
| CLS | Christopher Jarvis | 05 Mar 13 | 5,000 | 859.75 | 42,988 | 5,000 | 0.01 |
| Drax | Melanie Gee | 07 Mar 13 | 7,900 | 624.999 | 49,375 | 7,900 | - |
| Fusionex | Robin Taylor | 11 Mar 13 | 6,161 | 242 | 14,910 | 12,827 | 0.03 |
| Goldplat | Russell Lamming (ceo) | 07 Mar 13 | 145,084 | 10.25 | 14,871 | 345,084 | 0.2 |
| Innovation | Christopher Harrison | 07 Mar 13 | 40,014 | 24.96 | 9,987 | 157,136 | 0.016 |
| International Personal Finance | Richard Moat | 07 Mar 13 | 15,000 | 466 | 69,900 | 15,000 | 0.006 |
| Intu Properties | Steven Underwood | 05 Mar 13 | 2,951 | 337 | 9,945 | 7,308 | 0.0008 |
| Intu Properties | Adèle Anderson | 07 Mar 13 | 6,000 | 332.765 | 19,966 | 6,000 | 0.0006 |
| Intu Properties | John Whittaker | 08 Mar 13 | 300,000 | 333.9 | 1,001,700 | 189,812,258 | 19.89 |
| IPPlus | Geoffrey Forsyth | 04 Mar 13 | 5,000 | 17.75 | 888 | 947,657 | 2.99 |
| IPPlus | Geoffrey Forsyth | 05 Mar 13 | 43,799 | 20 | 8,760 | 991,456 | 3.13 |
| IPPlus | Stuart Gordon (cfo) | 04 Mar 13 | 5,000 | 17.75 | 888 | 902,039 | 2.84 |
| IPPlus | Stuart Gordon (cfo) | 05 Mar 13 | 49,394 | 20 | 9,879 | 951,433 | 3 |
| IPPlus | William Catchpole (ceo) | 05 Mar 13 | 14,850 | 20 | 2,970 | 2,520,974 | 7.95 |
| Laird | Anthony Reading | 12 Mar 13 | 10,000 | 235.08 | 23,508 | 50,000 | 0.02 |
| LPA | Per Staehr | 07 Mar 13 | 5,000 | 70 | 3,500 | 170,500 | 1.45 |
| Nakama | Stefan Ciecierski (ceo) | 05 Mar 13 | 559,592 | 1.85 | 10,352 | 13,851,474 | 11.76 |
| NCI Vehicle Rescue | Paul Barrett | 06 Mar 13 | 6,500 | 73 | 4,745 | 55,100 | 0.53 |
| Penna Consulting | Leslie Ferrar | 18 Feb 13 | 5,000 | 75.8 | 3,790 | 5,000 | 0.02 |
| RM | Iain McIntosh (cfo) | 06 Mar 13 | 100,000 | 73.5 | 73,500 | 150,151 | 0.16 |
| Rolls-Royce | Iain Conn | 07 Mar 13 | 236 | 1050 | 2,478 | 25,170 | - |
| Rotork | Sally James | 07 Mar 13 | 1,050 | 2957 | 31,049 | 1,050 | - |
| SIG | Stuart Mitchell | 12 Mar 13 | 110,000 | 149.961 | 164,957 | - | - |
| Standard Life | Pierre Danon | 07 Mar 13 | 9,500 | 379.3 | 36,034 | 35,305 | 0.0015 |
| Standard Life | John Paynter | 07 Mar 13 | 5,000 | 378.7 | 18,935 | 40,000 | 0.0017 |
| Total Produce | Seamus Taaffe | 05 Mar 13 | 50,000 | E0.601 | E30,050 | - | - |
| Waterman | Roger Fidgen (ch) | 01 Mar 13 | 15,000 | 44.5 | 6,675 | 50,000 | 0.2 |
| Witan Investment Trust | Suzy Neubert | 01 Mar 13 | 4,242 | 580.5 | 24,625 | 4,242 | 0.002 |
Sells
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Total shares held | Value (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4Imprint | Ms G Davies | 12 Mar 13 | 3,200 | 448.00 | 14,336 | 121,481 | 0.45 |
| Aurora Russia | Geoffrey Miller | 07 Mar 13 | 250,000 | 37.50 | 93,750 | nil | na |
| AZ Electronic Materials | Geoffrey Wild | 01 Mar 13 | 27,856 | 385.41 | 107,360 | 817,893 | 0.21 |
| AZ Electronic Materials | Geoffrey Wild | 06 Mar 13 | 22,144 | 380 | 84,161 | 795,749 | 0.2 |
| Big Yellow | Adrian Lee | 06 Mar 13 | 60,000 | 377.11 | 226,266 | 776,323 | 0.55 |
| Filtronic | Maura Moynihan | 08 Mar 13 | 17,000 | 83 | 14,110 | 77,222 | 0.07961 |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Stuart Louden | 11 Mar 13 | 25,000 | 884.00 | 221,000 | 350,650 | 0.07 |
| HSBC | A Almeida | 11 Mar 13 | 35,356 | 732.31 | 258,916 | - | - |
| International Continental Airlines | Robert Boyle | 05 Mar 13 | 20,000 | 245.67 | 49,134 | 85,962 | - |
| International Continental Airlines | Robert Boyle | 06 Mar 13 | 13,000 | 245.94 | 31,972 | 72,962 | - |
| Jardine Lloyd Thompson | Vyvienne Wade | 06 Mar 13 | 20,000 | 814.30 | 162,860 | 48,061 | 0.022 |
| Jupiter Fund Management | Adrian Creedy | 04 Mar 13 | 149,729 | 331 | 496,218 | 3,023,080 | 0.6605 |
| Jupiter Fund Management | Philip Johnson | 07 Mar 13 | 50,000 | 344.1793 | 172,090 | 1,553,422 | 0.3394 |
| Rathbone Brothers | Richard Lanyon | 08 Mar 13 | 360 | 1,430 | 5,148 | 210,683 | 0.457 |
| Rolls-Royce | John Patterson | 4-5 Mar 13 | 68,231 | 1,023-1,030 | 701,865 | 85,712 | 0.0045 |
| Rolls-Royce | Mark Morris | 07 Mar 13 | 2,878 | 1,046 | 30,104 | 62,744 | 0.0033 |
| Rolls-Royce | Kath Durrant | 04 Mar 13 | 5,900 | 1,029 | 60,711 | 6,408 | 0.0003 |
| Thwaites Daniel | RAJ Bailey | 06 Mar 13 | 38,000 | 100 | 38,000 | 377,328 | 0.634 |
| Travis Perkins | G Cooper | 04 Mar 13 | 25,000 | 1,278.04 | 319,511 | 107,190 | - |
| Travis Perkins | M Meech | 04 Mar 13 | 7,234 | 1,278 | 92,451 | 19,693 | - |
| Weir | Stephen Noon | 06 Mar 13 | 29,225 | 2,399.23 | 701,176 | 72,346 | - |
| XP Power | John Dyson | 08 Mar 13 | 15,000 | 1,132.04 | 169,806 | nil | na |
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
