The WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price is currently in the red by more than 1%, disappointing the market with an update after a pleasing start to December.
As we can see on the chart above, the company has regained a lot of the lost ground in October and November from the revelations surrounding talisman Richard White, his decision to step down from the CEO role and delays to revenue generation from its Container Transport Optimization product.
The WiseTech share price is only down 2% since 15 October 2024.
Recent share sales by insiders have unsettled investors. Late in November, it was revealed that co-founder Maree Isaacs decided to sell approximately $285 million of WiseTech shares to Richard White.
WiseTech just announced another share sale by an insider.
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Director sells shares
According to the Appendix 3Y announced to the ASX, director Charles Gibbon sold 1,532,567 WiseTech shares on 5 December 2024 through an underwritten block transaction.
The WiseTech shares were sold at a price of $130.50 per share, which means Gibbon's sale represented a total value of $200 million.
WiseTech explained that the transaction "allows him to undertake necessary personal estate planning measures." He also noted that he last sold shares in May 2019 and has been a shareholder since 2005. Gibbon said:
I remain committed to WiseTech Global and am excited about the enormous opportunities being pursued by the company, and into the future.
Is this a worrying development?
It's not encouraging to see that two of WiseTech's long-standing directors and shareholders have decided to make major sales following the recent troubles with WiseTech.
However, we should keep in mind that Charles Gibbon's sale only represented 8.8% of his total holding.
Between the two entities that Gibbon has an indirect interest in, he still has exposure to 15,816,447 WiseTech shares. In other words, he still has more than $2 billion invested in the business.
So, whilst it may seem concerning that he has chosen this period of time to make a sizeable sale, he still owns a very large amount of WiseTech shares and is still very financially aligned with the company's success from here.
WiseTech acknowledged that the recent media attention and organisational changes have been distracting. However, it's still expecting to report growth in FY25.
The company's current guidance for the 2025 financial year is for revenue to grow by 15% to 25% year over year to a range of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion. Operating profit (EBITDA) is expected to grow between 21% and 33% year over year to a range of $660 million to $660 million.
WiseTech share price snapshot
Despite the recent volatility, WiseTech shares have risen by more than 70% since the start of 2024.
