When it comes to investing in ASX shares, there are many variables to consider. One variable that can be worth a look at before buying is whether the company's own directors and board members have also been investing in it.
While it may not be a green flag to go and buy, it certainly is a good sign when insiders show conviction in the company that they are working for by putting some of their own cold hard cash into it.
Let's take a look at a few ASX-listed shares experiencing buying from insiders in the last month.
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3 ASX shares that insiders are investing in
Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD)
Landing on our list is one of Australia's most popular fuel retailers, Ampol Ltd, formerly known as Caltex. This Aussie company has been busy during the last couple of months. Earlier this month the company agreed to fork out NZ$2 billion to acquire New Zealand fuel retailer, Z Energy.
The final details of the Z Energy acquisition were shared with the market on 11 October. It must have seemed like a good deal to non-executive director Elizabeth Donaghey, with the board member purchasing 1,600 shares in ASX-listed Ampol 2 days later. According to the notice, Donaghey picked up the holding at a price of $30.11, amounting to a total investment of $48,171.
The Ampol share price has increased 13.2% in the past month. In fact, the company's shares are nearing a new 52-week high, with the milestone less than 1% away.
Data#3 Limited (ASX: DTL)
The next ASX share on the list is the $880 million IT solutions company, Data3. Despite a disappointing year of performance for the company, the last month has seen its share price increase by more than 20%. This came shortly after the unveiling of a record full-year result, booking $25.4 million in net profit after tax.
It appears two Data3 board members timed their investment well, with Mark Gray and Richard Anderson buying ~$60,000 and $46,500 respectively earlier in the month. According to the notice, the non-executive director and chair grabbed the shares between $4.65 and $5.
Following a continued rise in the Data3 share price, the two board members are now sitting on roughly $22,000 in paper profits between them.
Orica Ltd (ASX: ORI)
Last, but certainly not least, is possibly the only explosives and blasting systems company on the ASX. Shares in Orica have been spiralling upwards this month, gaining nearly 27% in the process.
This impressive 1-month move follows Orica releasing a trading update at the end of September. In the update, the company highlighted it expects significant items of between $345 million to $370 million to impact FY21 profits.
On 30 September, non-executive director Denise Gibson decided to load up on Orica shares on the back of the abovementioned announcement. The reported notice indicates that Gibson acquired 10,000 shares in the ASX company at a total value of ~A$136,700.
