Two stocks to watch in the near term are First Pacific Bank and Henderson China. Managing director James Ng continued to sell shares in First Pacific Bank - his most recent sale was 670,000 shares on July 3 at $4.63 per share.
This is worth noting as he continued to sell even after the stock dropped from his previous sale of 1.5 million shares at $5.12 per share on June 20. The sale at $4.63 per share would indicate the stock is still worth selling at that price level.
Lee Shau-kee bought more shares in Henderson China. The chairman's most recent acquisition was 500,000 shares on June 24 at $13.30 per share. This was Mr Lee's 12th purchase in Henderson China this year.
Fellow director Stephen Yen has also bought shares. He acquired 30,000 shares in April at $13 per share. The counter has been on a downward trend since listing last year, slipping more than 35 per cent since April 1996.
Purchases by Mr Lee from September to December last year failed to support the price, which dropped to as low as $12.40 in April. Mr Lee resumed buying shares that month and has since acquired more than 7.5 million shares at an average of $13.04 per share.
His purchases this year have effectively lowered his average purchase price to $13.80 based on the 8.75 million shares he has bought since September last year. The stock closed at $14.35 in yesterday's trade, up more than 6.5 per cent from his average purchase price.