Director buying remains high, selling stays low

THE buying was high for the fourth straight week while the selling among directors was very low for the third straight week based on filings on the Singapore Exchange in the fourth week of November. A total of 16 companies recorded 28 purchases worth S$4.56 million versus one firm with two disposals worth a paltry S$0.06 million. The buy figures were up from the previous week's 10 companies, 24 purchases and S$1.66 million. The sales, on the other hand, were consistent with the previous week's one firm, two disposals and S$0.12 million.

Meanwhile, the buyback activity fell for the first time in the past three weeks with 19 companies that posted 52 repurchases worth S$4.84 million. The number of firms was up from the previous week's 18 companies but the number of trades and value were down from the previous week's 58 repurchases worth S$11.95 million.

Our top two stocks last week are SATS Limited and StarHub Limited as there were buybacks and purchases by high-level executives. Meanwhile, there were insider buys in Cache Logistics Trust and Eurosports Global following the fall in their share prices. On the flip side, there was an insider buy in Food Empire Holdings following the sharp rebound in its share price. Lastly, Temasek Holdings was active last week with purchases in CapitaLand Mall Trust, Mapletree Commercial Trust and Hutchison Port Trust.