Jorn Rausing - Back for more, what does it tell us?8 May 2021 15:02
The major current shareholders of Ocado are in the link below, scroll down a little in the page:
https://m.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/OCADO-GROUP-PLC-6413974/company/
Jorns new purchase of £26m I do not believe is reflected in the figures within the link. Jorn in March bought £16m of shares. The 2 buys represent a good chunk of buying from him. Yes he has a huge stake in Ocado, £1.38bill - 9.33% of the company, so these buys are small compared. However he, to my knowledge, hasn't bought before these 2 buys for a very long time (outside the fundraising rounds) He was one of the earliest backers of Ocado. Much of his stake was acquired at £1 a share or lower 10 or more years ago.
This new buy is bigger than the last. Other major holders of Ocado will be looking at this very intently. Jorn clearly found the share prices he bought at extremely attractive. He didn't sell when the shares were £28/29. He has been absolutely dedicated to being a long shareholder over many years. His timing in buying at £19.33 is impeccable to acquire that many shares at that price. I believe the Ocado share price would have risen well on Friday without Jorns involvement. The shares bottomed out on Friday and overall market conditions improved (nasdaq rising, 10 year treasury US interest rates falling). I expect a good rise in the share price on Monday now Jorns new bigger purchase has been made public.
The new buy will set minds racing in the city as to what he is up to. If, and it's a huge if, he sees a takeover/merger for Ocado down the line he may be starting to position himself for that. Upping his stake then later demanding a very high price from suitors.
The reason I myself haven't been adding again at the extremely tempting sub £19 mark was my slight wariness after Mark Richardson's (Ocado's COO) sell of £4.4m shares in late April. He has expert knowledge of Ocado's operations. I believe he had around a £35m position in Ocado shares prior to the sale. His sale stuck out for me. However I now believe he made that purchase for personal reasons/raise cash for another investment opportunity rather than than that he had lost faith in Ocado. His sell at £22 set things up nicely for Jorn to scoop up shares at a lower level as the uncertainty it created led to Ocado's shares being marked down more than they should have over the last week. Jorn owes Mark a few pints I'd say!
Very intriguing. Of course the Ocado share price isn't out of the woods yet but clearly around the mid £19 level Jorn is sending a clear message that he's a big buyer at those prices. He has the most expert knowledge of Ocado, from an investment perspective, apart from Tim Steiner in my view.
The above simply represents my thoughts, as always do your own research.
Anyone have any comments on this?
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