Directors dealings: Laird´s new boss and finance chief buy shares

Laird´s new boss and finance chief took advantage of the recent crash in the share price to pick-up stock in the firm they lead.

On 19 October the manufacturer of products for wireless telecommunications said trading improved a bit in the third quarter - helped by currency shifts - but warned profits for the full-year would be lower than expected due to delays in the mobile devices cycle and increased margin pressure.

This made for a "very challenging trading performance" for its Performance Materials (PM) arm in the three months to 30 September, which led new chief executive Tony Quinlan to cut full-year guidance for underlying profit before tax to around £50m, with the analyst consensus nearer £75m.

That prompted analysts Alexander Mees and Olivia Hurley at JP Morgan to tell clients: "There is no certainty at this stage
that pricing pressure will alleviate in the near-term. Laird also states that ‘visibility on volumes remains poor’. We forecast year-end ND/EBITDA of 3.3x, which would see Laird remain within its covenant limit of 3.5x. Despite this, the uncertainty around trading causes us to lower our rating to Neutral with a 200p December 2017 price target."

The next day, the company´s chief executive Tony Quinlan and his wife bought 20,000 shares at a price of 168.55p, for a total consideration of £33,710.07.

Two days after the company´s warning, finance chief Kevin Dangerfield followed suit, buying 10,000 shares, disembursing £16,976.00 in the process.

Top Director Buys

Motorpoint Group (MOTR)
Director name: Shelton,David
Amount purchased: 520,000 @ 138.00p
Value: £717,600.00

Motorpoint Group (MOTR)
Director name: Carpenter,Mark
Amount purchased: 520,000 @ 138.00p
Value: £717,600.00

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.)
Director name: Hennah,Adrian Nevil
Amount purchased: 8,959 @ 7,218.70p
Value: £646,723.78

Motorpoint Group (MOTR)
Director name: Morris,Mark C
Amount purchased: 260,000 @ 138.00p
Value: £358,800.00

Ocado Group (OCDO)
Director name: McCallum,Douglas
Amount purchased: 80,000 @ 277.25p
Value: £221,800.00

Maxcyte (di/reg S) (MXCT)
Director name: Johnston ,John
Amount purchased: 37,500 @ 98.00p
Value: £36,750.00

Maxcyte (di/reg S) (MXCT)
Director name: Johnston ,John
Amount purchased: 37,500 @ 96.00p
Value: £36,000.00

Marwyn Value Investors Limited (MVI)
Director name: Hobbs ,Ronald
Amount purchased: 20,813 @ 143.00p
Value: £29,762.59

Synectics (SNX)
Director name: Webb ,Paul
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 212.00p
Value: £21,200.00

Laird (LRD)
Director name: Quinlan,Anthony (Tony) James
Amount purchased: 11,007 @ 169.00p
Value: £18,601.83

Laird (LRD)
Director name: Dangerfield,Kevin
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 169.76p
Value: £16,976.00

Laird (LRD)
Director name: Quinlan,Anthony (Tony) James
Amount purchased: 8,993 @ 168.00p
Value: £15,108.24

Synectics (SNX)
Director name: Stilwell,Mike
Amount purchased: 6,910 @ 212.00p
Value: £14,649.20

Toro Limited (TORO)
Director name: Hervouet,Frederic
Amount purchased: 16,000 @ € 0.87
Value: € 13,920.00

Rtc Group (RTC)
Director name: Douie,W. J. C.
Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 41.00p
Value: £10,250.00

Avacta Group (AVCT)
Director name: Owen,Mike
Amount purchased: 7,763 @ 90.00p
Value: £6,986.70

Gresham House (GHE)
Director name: Preston,John-Paul
Amount purchased: 1,673 @ 298.70p
Value: £4,997.25

Ocado Group (OCDO)
Director name: Richardson,Mark
Amount purchased: 56 @ 267.50p
Value: £149.80

Ocado Group (OCDO)
Director name: Tatton-Brown,Duncan
Amount purchased: 56 @ 267.50p
Value: £149.80

Ocado Group (OCDO)
Director name: Abrams,Neill
Amount purchased: 56 @ 267.50p
Value: £149.80

Homeserve (HSV)
Director name: Harpin,Richard
Amount purchased: 23 @ 628.07p
Value: £144.46

Homeserve (HSV)
Director name: Bennett,Martin
Amount purchased: 23 @ 628.07p
Value: £144.46

Top Director Sells

Regional Reit Limited (RGL)
Director name: Inglis,Stephen
Amount sold: 750,000 @ 103.39p
Value: £775,425.02