A month after AstraZeneca (AZN) announced a $3.5bn (£2.7bn) placing to help fund its partnership with Japanese pharma group Daiichi Sankyo, several directors have bumped up their holdings, chief among them chief executive Pascal Soriot, who forked out nearly £1m to drive up his stake by around 60 per cent.
This show of faith comes at a time when the pharma heavyweight is managing a definitive shift in strategy towards oncology – and it has been quick to flag up recent clinical developments. That’s not surprising given what we described as a “well-publicised ‘patent cliff’” when we advised selling the stock last November. With more capital diverted towards research and development, a steady stream of positive clinical updates is required to guarantee further institutional support.
So, analysts will take note of the latest update on the Phase III trial of AstraZeneca's Calquence in previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The trial is to be stopped early after an interim analysis found patients on the blood cancer therapy were faring better than those receiving one of two combination regimens containing the commonly used drug Rituximab.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus | Deborah Guthrie | 30 April 2019 | 2,345 | 1,054.65 | 24,732 | 4,690 | 0.014 |
| Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus | Deborah Guthrie | 30 April 2019 | 2,345 | 1,060.35 | 24,865 | 2,345 | 0.007 |
| Accrol | Daniel Wright (ch) | 25 April 2019 | 607,500 | 24.5 | 148,838 | 3,077,808 | 1.576 |
| Aeorema Communications | Michael Hale (ch) | 29 April 2019 | 25,000 | 26.8 | 6,700 | 1,770,000 | 19.557 |
| Alliance Trust | Karl Sternberg | 01 May 2019 | 1,595 | 783.9999 | 12,505 | 15,706 | 0.005 |
| Alliance Trust | Christopher Samuel | 29 April 2019 | 10,097 | 788.236 | 79,588 | 50,684 | 0.015 |
| AstraZeneca | Philip Broadley | 30 April 2019 | 520 | 5,738 | 29,838 | 5,735 | 0.000 |
| AstraZeneca | Pascal Soriot (ceo) | 29 April 2019 | 17,100 | 5,825.50 | 996,161 | 45,353 | 0.003 |
| Avon Rubber | Petrus Vervaat | 01 May 2019 | 2,500 | 1,450 | 36,250 | 5,500 | 0.018 |
| BMO Global Smaller Companies | David Stileman | 01 May 2019 | 2,000 | 1,336 | 26,720 | 3,000 | 0.005 |
| Cobham | James Pike (ch)♥ | 01 May 2019 | 87,420 | 114.39 | 100,000 | 87,420 | 0.004 |
| Concepta | Adam Reynolds | 26 April 2019 | 416,667 | 3 | 12,500 | 1,834,722 | 0.692 |
| Concepta | Matthew Walls (ch) | 26 April 2019 | 1,000,000 | 3 | 30,000 | 1,525,000 | 0.576 |
| Concepta | Barbara Spurrier (fd) | 26 April 2019 | 333,333 | 3 | 10,000 | 579,390 | 0.219 |
| Devro | Malcolm Swift | 01 May 2019 | 5,000 | 199 | 9,950 | 10,000 | 0.006 |
| EP Global Opportunities | Tom Walker | 25 April 2019 | 7,000 | 316.5 | 22,155 | 7,000 | 0.017 |
| FireAngel Safety Technology | Michael Stilwell (cfo) | 30 April 2019 | 55,538 | 36 | 19,994 | 55,538 | 0.073 |
| Gamma Communications | Henrietta Marsh | 29 April 2019 | 1,000 | 1,100 | 11,000 | 1,000 | 0.001 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Vivienne Cox | 01 May 2019 | 339 | 1,568 | 5,316 | 4,196 | 0.000 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Manvinder Banga | 01 May 2019 | 458 | 1,568 | 7,181 | 58,784 | 0.001 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Urs Rohner | 01 May 2019 | 458 | 1,568 | 7,181 | 9,206 | 0.000 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Philip Hampton (ch) | 01 May 2019 | 2,790 | 1,568 | 43,747 | 58,998 | 0.001 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Judy Lewent | 01 May 2019 | 908 | 20.335 | 18,464 | 51,826 | 0.001 |
| IndigoVision | Max Thowless-Reeves (ch) | 01 May 2019 | 10,000 | 156.5 | 15,650 | 157,383 | 2.095 |
| IndigoVision | Max Thowless-Reeves (ch) | 30 April 2019 | 10,000 | 160 | 16,000 | 147,383 | 1.962 |
| Jupiter Fund Management | Roger Yates | 01 May 2019 | 25,000 | 377 | 94,250 | 25,000 | 0.005 |
| Mereo BioPharma | Peter Fellner (ch) | 29 April 2019 | 30,000 | 128 | 38,400 | 40,000 | 0.056 |
| Nektan | Gary Shaw | 29 April 2019 | 4,566,667 | 15 | 685,000 | 9,896,835 | 8.955 |
| nmcn | John Homer (ceo) | 29 April 2019 | 15,000 | 505 | 75,750 | 45,967 | 0.454 |
| Playtech | Alan Jackson (ch) | 26 April 2019 | 10,000 | 5.636639 | 56,366 | 35,000 | 0.011 |
| Polar Capital Technology | Charles Park | 01 May 2019 | 1,840 | 1,363.48 | 25,088 | 1,840 | 0.001 |
| PZ Cussons | Dariusz Kucz | 25 April 2019 | 7,500 | 201 | 15,075 | 7,500 | 0.002 |
| RDI REIT | Michael Watters (ceo) | 25 April 2019 | 16,000 | 128.336 | 20,534 | 1,346,686 | 0.354 |
| RDI REIT | Michael Watters (ceo) | 26 April 2019 | 4,185 | 23.9 | 100,022 | 1,350,871 | 0.355 |
| Rentokil Initial | Richard Solomons | 26 April 2019 | 25,000 | 390 | 97,500 | 25,000 | 0.001 |
| Sabre Insurance | Rebecca Shelley | 26 April 2019 | 7,205 | 275.35 | 19,839 | 7,205 | 0.003 |
| Sabre Insurance | Catherine Barton | 26 April 2019 | 7,198 | 276.3 | 19,888 | 7,198 | 0.003 |
| Saga | James Quin (cfo) | 29 April 2019 | 33,118 | 60.4 | 20,003 | 33,118 | 0.003 |
| Sainsbury (J) | Kevin O'Byrne (cfo) | 01 May 2019 | 70,000 | 229.5 | 160,650 | 250,000 | 0.011 |
| Sainsbury (J) | Michael Coupe (ceo) | 01 May 2019 | 100,000 | 230.65 | 230,650 | 1,702,727 | 0.077 |
| Scottish American Investment Co (The) | Nicholas Macpherson | 26 April 2019 | 4,000 | 394.13 | 15,765 | 34,000 | 0.024 |
| Scottish American Investment Co (The) | Nicholas Macpherson♥ | 26 April 2019 | 5,000 | 394.16 | 19,708 | 39,000 | 0.027 |
| SimplyBiz (The) | Neil Stevens (ceo) | 01 May 2019 | 50,000 | 205 | 102,500 | 1,611,975 | 2.108 |
| SOCO International | Michael Watts | 26 April 2019 | 11,452 | 75.4 | 8,635 | 539,496 | 0.163 |
| SOCO International | Janice Brown (cfo) | 26 April 2019 | 11,452 | 75.4 | 8,635 | 406,102 | 0.122 |
| Telit Communications | Harald Rosch | 30 April 2019 | 250,000 | 184.6 | 461,500 | 250,000 | 0.190 |
| VPC Specialty Lending Investments | Mark Katzenellenbogen | 01 May 2019 | 140,000 | 71.5 | 100,100 | 140,000 | 0.041 |
| Yourgene Health | Chia-Han Chang | 25 April 2019 | 4,634,146 | 10.25 | 475,000 | 79,490,142 | 13.838 |
| Yourgene Health | Lyn Rees (ceo) | 25 April 2019 | 243,902 | 10.25 | 25,000 | 743,902 | 0.130 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Colefax | David Green (ch/ceo)♥ | 26 April 2019 | 93,600 | 550 | 514,800 | 2,501,379 | 25.506 |
| Colefax | Robert Barker (fd)♥ | 26 April 2019 | 2,527 | 550 | 13,899 | 192,680 | 1.965 |
| Colefax | Robert Barker (fd)♥ | 26 April 2019 | 6,127 | 550 | 33,699 | 186,553 | 1.902 |
| Colefax | Robert Barker (fd)♥ | 30 April 2019 | 6,127 | 550 | 33,699 | 180,426 | 1.840 |
| Curtis Banks | Louis "Jules" Hydleman | 26 April 2019 | 6,500 | 304 | 19,760 | 36,818 | 0.068 |
| Ferrexpo | Christopher Mawe (cfo) | 25 April 2019 | 150,000 | 268.03 | 402,045 | 191,132 | 0.032 |
| GlobalData | Michael Danson (ceo) | 25 April 2019 | 2,000,000 | 600 | 12,000,000 | 79,028,349 | 66.802 |
| Midwich | Stephen Fenby | 26 April 2019 | 1,000,000 | 625 | 6,250,000 | 19,040,000 | 23.965 |
| Ten Entertainment | Graham Blackwell | 29 April 2019 | 297,000 | 232 | 689,040 | 95,395 | 0.147 |
| *Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party | |||||||
