EML Payments leads the insider selling

Electronic gift cards business EML Payments has soared in value as its acquisition strategy and leverage to e-commerce deliver impressive growth.

However, its chairman Peter Martin sold 400,000 shares in the business on market between May 20 and May 22 for close to a $1.5 million payday.

Martin still owns 7.32 million shares, while EML suggests he expects to sell some every year given he's nearly 70 years old and the holding is a significant part of his family's investments.

Mr Martin may be cashing in at a good time, like a couple of other company insiders taking some chips off the table late last week.

EML is a firm market darling, but trades on an expensive valuation and relied on breakage fees for about one third of its total revenue in 2018-19.

Breakage is the unused amount left by consumers on reloadable gift cards and it's possible global regulators will force this amount to be returned to consumers one day, rather than to the gift card operators.

EML also has a giant $252.3 million acquisition of an Irish fintech business named PFS to integrate in the years ahead. Whether or not it has paid a sensible price for PFS is likely to have a significant bearing on its valuation.

Mr Martin may be cashing in at a good time, like a couple of other company insiders taking some chips off the table late last week.

Selling when price rising

Last Friday, the managing director of gold miner Saracen Minerals, Raleigh Finlayson, took advantage of the rising gold price to sell 500,000 shares on market for about $2.74 million.

Saracen made a bumper $83 million profit for the half-year to December 31, 2019, so Finlayson arguably earned his payday.

Argosy Minerals owns overseas lithium tenements, but it hasn't produced a dollar of revenue in the past 12 months with consistent cash losses.

That didn't stop chairman Alex Molyneux dumping 3.55 million shares on market on May 20 and 21 at an average price of 5.19c.

Perhaps the chairman isn't that confident in Argosy's future. The Argentina-focused "miner" has just $5.13 million cash on hand and no revenue as yet.