The past fortnight’s JSE insider trades show the usual mix of tax-driven sales and selective buying, offering a few hints about where confidence resides.
Several directors and prescribed officers sold shares in late June and early July, much of it predictable around corporate share plan vestings.
Capitec founder Michiel le Roux, through associate Kalander Finco, offloaded R75m worth of shares to service obligations from previous hedging and financing. The market appears to have taken these disposals in its stride: Capitec shares have been resilient above R3,500, despite slower retail credit growth.
In the industrials space, Michael Schmitz of Astral Foods and Argent Industrial’s Alfred Litschka both trimmed holdings after a strong run in their respective stocks. Astral has rallied in recent months as poultry margins recover after the bird flu outbreak, while Argent is up more than 25% year to date, making it a tempting time for directors to crystallise gains.
Life Healthcare CEO Peter Wharton-Hood spent more than R3m increasing his stake, taking advantage of the company’s weak share price after a bruising year in which earnings guidance disappointed. His buying aligns with a broader theme of patient accumulation in South African hospital stocks as elective procedures recover.
Veteran property investor Des de Beer’s Delsa Investments continued its buying streak and acquired nearly 400,000 shares in Lighthouse, a cross-border property company that has struggled to close its discount to NAV despite defensive assets.
And Christo Wiese, through Titan Premier Investments, continued mopping up shares in Brait at just above 200c — remarkable when you consider Brait was a darling at R100-plus only a few years ago. It’s a reminder that Wiese still sees optionality in the battered portfolio, which now leans heavily on Virgin Active.
Insider buying also cropped up at Vunani Fund Managers, Finbond Mutual Bank, PBT Group and Life Healthcare, though mostly in relatively small amounts.
It’s a reminder that Wiese still sees optionality in the battered Brait portfolio, which now leans heavily on Virgin Active
The Public Investment Corp increased its stake in Northam Platinum to more than 20%. With platinum group metals still trading at multiyear lows, this could be seen as contrarian accumulation or simply maintaining exposure to a key industrial metal.
Old Mutual crossed the 5% threshold in Woolworths, increasing its stake in the retailer.
Coronation Fund Managers increased its voting rights in Bytes Technology Group, while Norges Bank pared back slightly in Sea Harvest, and Legal & General reduced its stake in Primary Health Properties.
One interesting outlier: Pick n Pay stepped into the market to buy R25m of shares to hold in treasury, apparently to cover future share plan obligations. Given the retailer’s turnaround under new leadership, the move signals at least some confidence in stabilising the share price after a brutal year.
A2X
Trade on A2X maintained a meaningful share of activity in some of the JSE’s largest and most liquid counters over the past fortnight, with blue-chip names dominating the secondary market.
Prosus led the board as the most actively traded share on A2X with more than R340.7m traded, capturing 16.63% of its overall market turnover during the period. Luxury goods giant Richemont followed with R220.3m transacted, accounting for 13.17% of its total.
Discovery came in third, recording R82.8m (11.12%). Sanlam and Aspen Pharmacare rounded out the top five, with R55.5m and R39.6m traded respectively, representing market shares of 8.7% and 8.41%.
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