PLAIN TEXT VERSION
Last week, we looked at Core Lithium, which is one of Australia's newest lithium producers. In keeping with this theme, this week we will be looking at another lithium developer-turned-producer who has also benefited from the lithium sector's uplift, transforming itself into a leading Canadian lithium concentrate producer. The journey hasn't been a simple one; however, the company executed numerous M&A deals to scale the wider business while ensuring that enough capital was raised to support the plans.Let's dive in and examine whether Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) is a rare 'Triple Threat.'
Understanding whether directors have been net purchasers or sellers of the stock can give investors an indication of where insiders expect the future share price to go. Although this isn't a definitive signal, a large quantity of selling should be a cause for concern, as it may imply that the peak share price has already passed. After all, insiders such as directors have a better gauge on the underlying business and are likely to time their buying and selling better than external investors.For Sayona, the directors have been very active in the market. See a list of trades grouped by directors below.
Allan Buckler
28/7/2023: Purchased 10,000,000 shares via option conversion for $1,500,000 (link)
12/09/2022: Sold 7,000,000 shares for $2,522,042 (link)
5/4/2022: Sold 9,101,063 shares for $2,916,040 (link)James Brown
28/7/2023: Purchased 10,000,000 shares for $1,500,000 via option conversion (link)
6/4/2022: Purchase 757,094 shares for $22,713 via option conversion (link)
Paul Crawford
28/7/2023: Purchased 20,000,000 shares for $3,000,000 via option conversion (link)
19/7/2023: Purchased 555,556 shares for $100,000 (link)
19/7/2023: Sold 9,349,942 shares for $1,681,617 (link)
16/12/2022: Purchased 275,000 shares for $55,000 (link)
30/5/2022: Purchased 893,895 shares for $23,692 via option conversion (link)
1/6/2022: Purchased 3,155,000 shares for $609,082 (link)
19/4/2022: Sold 4,000,500 shares for $1,470,560 (link)
6/4/2022: Purchased 14,949,186 shares for $322,240 via option conversion (link)
23/3/2022: Sold 4,200,000 shares for $788,229 (link)
16/11/2021: Sold 2,500,000 shares for $400,000 (link)
1/11/2021: Sold 1,000,000 shares for $145,000 (link)
Brett Lynch
19/7/2023: Purchased 555,556 shares for $100,000 (link)
26/4/2023: Sold 4,578,000 shares for $892,509 (link)
28/4/2023: Purchased 30,642,999 shares for $612,500 via option conversion (link)
23/11/2022: Sold 410,954 shares for $9,227 (link)
25/11/2022: Purchased 2,000,000 shares for $80,000 (link)
28/6/2022: Sold 4,070,000 shares for $617,975 (link)
1/7/2022: Purchased 14,534,885 shares for $436,047 via option conversion (link)
31/5/2022: Sold 570,000 shares for $125,082 (link)
6/6/2022: Sold 600,000 shares for $104,984 (link)
23/12/2021: Sold 8,632,629 shares for $1,048,894 (link)
1/12/2021: Purchased 2,000,000 shares for $60,000 via option conversion (link)
1/11/2021: Purchased 3,030,118 shares for $439,367 (link)
22/10/2021: Sold 2,850,000 shares for $449,700 (link)
As we can see, Sayona directors have been frequent traders of their stock with plenty of buying, selling, and option conversions. If we aggregate some of the figures, we can see that these four directors have collectively made 29 trades during this 2-year period, with:13 sales totalling 57,863,088 shares for $13,026,85916 purchases totalling 114,349,289 shares for $9,005,641As we can see, the number of shares purchased is double the sales, yet the directors have taken more money off the table. This is because the average sale price of $0.23 is much higher than the average purchase price of $0.08. This dynamic stems from the large number of options directors acquired before the share price jump, allowing them to purchase more stock at very low prices while being able to sell at much higher market prices.Although the directors have taken a significant amount of cash off the table, they have also demonstrated conviction by continuing to purchase stock at higher prices. Furthermore, these directors have maintained significant holdings in the business and do not appear to be looking for a complete exit.As such, we do not consider this to be a red flag, but the quantity of selling means this is not a rare "threat" either.
Coming soon
Sayona has achieved a great deal over the last few years. Looking back over this period, we have additionally noticed 1 exceptional quality, and 1 area of concern. Register below for this weekend's complete analysis on whether Sayona qualifies as a Triple Threat.
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