David Gammon, chairman of video games developer and publisher Frontier Developments (FDEV:AIM), sold 35,000 shares at £14 on 11 November, equating to £490,000.
Following the transaction Gammon holds 245,000 shares in the company which represents 0.6% of the share capital.
Frontier reported record revenues (21 Sep) for the year to 31 May up 26% year-on-year to £114 million driven by the successful release of Jurassic World Evolution 2 and ongoing performance from the firm’s portfolio of leading games.
The company launched a major themed expansion of the game to coincide with the release of the Jurassic World Dominion film, Jurassic World Evolution 2.
Management said it had made a pleasing start to the 2023 fiscal year and expected to meet market expectations. Analysts have pencilled in 2023 revenue growth of 18.4%, close to the firm’s medium term growth expectations.
The shares are down 30% year-to-date and around 60% below the highs seen at the end of 2020.
ACQUISITION FUELLED UPGRADE
Non-executive chairman of scientific equipment maker Judges Scientific (JDG:AIM) Alexander Hambro sold 10,000 shares on 16 November at a price of £75.5, equivalent to £775,000.
The sale leaves Hambro holding 49,500 shares representing around 0.78% of the company’s shares.
In the first half-year to 30 June the company said it continued to recover from the pandemic and increased full-year guidance following its largest acquisition to date.
On 23 May 2022 the company acquired Geotek for up to £80 million which it said is expected to ‘significantly’ enhance full-year earnings.
Consequently, the board now reckons earnings will be significantly ahead of market expectations. Analysts have persistently increased their earnings estimates throughout the year which means the 330p per share consensus estimate is 42% higher than where it stood in January.
If delivered, that represents annual growth of 57%. The shares have lost around 12% of their value in 2022.
Other significant trades over the last week saw independent non-executive director of budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ) Charlotte Andsager pick up 4,000 shares equating to £91,080.
