Larry Tracey, the Chairman of power controller manufacturer XP Power, treated himself to 4,000 shares in the company, despite the company last month warning that the global economic environment remains weak for the equipment which they manufacture.
Tracey, who joined XP's board 22 years ago, bought himself £47,000-worth of shares at 1,175p each, increasing his stake in the company to 7.97%, equal to more than 1.5m shares.
In its April statement the company cautioned investors that it currently anticipates that 2012 will be a flat revenue year following the past two years of strong industry growth.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
The firm explained that because order intake in the first quarter of 2012 has been stronger than that experienced in the final quarter of 2011, it therefore expects stronger revenues in the second quarter of 2012, offsetting a 10% fall in revenues during the first three months of the year.
Top Director Buys
BG Group (BG.)
Director name: Mr Andrew F J Gould
Amount purchased: 30,000 @ 1,331.00p
Value: £399,300
Sierra Rutile Ltd (SRX)
Director name: Mr Jan Alex Castro
Amount purchased: 152,000 @ 60.75p
Value: £92,340
Beazley (BEZ)
Director name: Mr Dennis Holt
Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 141.00p
Value: £70,500
Sierra Rutile Ltd (SRX)
Director name: Mr Michael Brown
Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 58.80p
Value: £58,800
Cape (CIU)
Director name: Mr Brendan Connolly
Amount purchased: 8,450 @ 355.00p
Value: £29,998
Old Mutual (OML)
Director name: Mr Roger Marshall
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 145.70p
Value: £14,570
Global Petroleum Ltd. (GBP)
Director name: Mr Peter Blakey
Amount purchased: 76,213 @ 14.75p
Value: £11,241
Witan Inv Trust (WTAN)
Director name: Mr Robert W Boyle
Amount purchased: 2,455 @ 456.50p
Value: £11,207
Top Director Sells
Northacre (NTA)
Director name: Mr Klas B Nilsson
Amount sold: 60,000 @ 70.00p
Value: £42,000
Pendragon (PDG)
Director name: Ms Hilary Claire Sykes
Amount sold: 168,496 @ 14.88p
Value: £25,072
-
What does Reeves’s plan for growth mean for UK investors?Rachel Reeves says she is going “further and faster” to kickstart the UK economy, but investors are unlikely to be persuaded
-
Will China thrive during the Year of the Snake - or will Trump’s tariffs bite?As the Chinese lunar new year begins, investors will be wondering whether allocating to the world’s second-largest economy will “rattle” up some big returns, or whether Trump’s tariffs will take a “venomous bite” out of investment performance
