A member of Nuvei’s senior management is taking advantage of the Montreal provider of electronic payment solutions’ stock market rebound to sell more than $4 million in shares.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
North America chief operating officer Ed Garcia sold a total of 50,000 shares on March 18. The operation is disclosed in a document filed mid-week with the stock market authorities.
The transaction comes as Nuvei will hold its first ever investor day in New York on Monday. In particular, management intends to clarify certain information and present an overview of the opportunities to be seized.
In a note published this month, BMO analyst James Fotheringham points out that the next catalyst for the stock is this Investor Day scheduled for Monday.
Stock market rebound
Nuvei came under attack from a short seller in early December. The author of the negative report disputed in particular the background of the directors, the organic growth and certain financial information. After hitting a peak of $180 on the Toronto Stock Exchange last September, the stock had fallen back to $120 before the publication of the pessimistic document written by the firm Spruce Point Capital. Nuvei’s stock subsequently slid as low as $54.
The rebound observed since the beginning of the month makes Nuvei one of the best performing Quebec securities in Quebec in March. Nuvei’s stock is up 30% since the start of the month and closed the week at $89.28 in Toronto.
The current stock market rally began with the publication on March 8 of a better-than-expected year-end performance. On the sidelines of the results, the management of Nuvei notably announced the launch of a share buyback program for the next 12 months aimed at up to 10% of the “free float”.
According to James Fotheringham, the year-end results, the encouraging outlook and increased disclosure by management all suggest that the short seller’s allegations were “insubstantial and vapid”.
In his most recent analysis, his colleague Paul Treiber, at RBC, argues for his part that the quarterly performance unveiled by Nuvei two weeks ago “validates” the momentum of the company as well as its competitive advantages.
“The stock’s valuation is disconnected from the organic growth recorded by the company,” he said in a note sent to clients earlier this month. “The discount applied to the stock relative to comparables will narrow over time as management discloses new information that highlights competitive advantages and demonstrates that business growth is sustainable. »
Nuvei is almost unanimous among analysts. Twelve of the fourteen analysts who follow the title recommend its purchase.
Ed Garcia did not respond to messages left by The Press. By their status, insiders (officers, directors and major shareholders) are required to disclose their transactions to regulatory authorities.