Big Director Buys At Standard Chartered PLC, ASOS plc And Quindell PLC

Directors have been splashing the cash at beaten-down Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN), ASOS plc (LON:ASC) and Quindell PLC (LON:QPP).

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Standard CharteredShares of Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN), ASOS (LSE: ASC) and Quindell (LSE: QPP) have been really under the cosh this year. But directors have recently stuck their necks out and bought big.

At what price did these directors buy, and how much did they invest? Read on!

Standard Chartered

The shares of Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered have been falling all year, and took a further dive to a five-year low last week when management warned on full-year profits in a third-quarter trading update.

Two days later, non-executive director Byron Grote (who also sits on the Boards of Unilever and Anglo American) bought £95,230 worth of shares at about 952p a time. Dr Grote, who joined Standard Chartered in July, also purchased £97,520 of shares at a higher price of 1,219p in September.

If you want to follow this director’s lead, Standard Chartered’s shares are still on offer at around 952p. That doesn’t look a bad price for a bank trading at a near 10% discount to tangible book value.

ASOS

Three profit warnings this year led to the shares of online fashion retailer ASOS falling from a high of over 7,000p in February to a low of 1,785p in mid-October.

ASOS released its final results on 21 October and also announced that chief financial officer Nick Beighton was to become chief operating officer with immediate effect. Also with immediate effect, Mr Beighton opened his wallet to add to his shareholding. He invested almost £500,000 at just a tad under 2,250p a share.

ASOS’s shares have continued to recover strongly from their mid-October low and now trade at 2,750p. The P/E today is over 60 compared with the 50 at which Mr Beighton bought. Still, directors were willing buyers at up to about 5,034p earlier this year!

Quindell

Quindell, controversial insurance technology and personal injury claims group, has also seen a precipitous fall in its shares this year, following the now-notorious attack by bear analysts Gotham City Research. Quindell’s shares currently trade at 130p (on a P/E of 2.3) — 80% below their pre-Gotham high of 660p.

Quindell directors have been buying in turn since the company released a third-quarter trading update on 13 October:

Date Director No. shares bought Price paid Total cost
14 October Robert Burrow (non-exec) 10,000 135.5p £13,550
15 October David Currie (non-exec) 19,500 127.5p £24,863
17 October Robert Fielding (chief exec) 17,707 141.1p £24,985
29 October Tim Scurry (exec management team) 15,000 140.82p £21,123
31 October Robert Bright (non-exec) 100,000 131.5p £131,500

However, Quindell founder and chairman Rob Terry has yet to make a purchase, despite saying after the company’s half-year results in August: “Once I’m able to, if the price stays at this level I’ll be buying more”.

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

G A Chester has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of ASOS. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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