Insider Trades: Tech, mining and biotech directors are betting on these 9 ASX small caps

Welcome back to the Insider Trades Series – A weekly summary of on-market ASX director transactions for companies from the most speculative corners of the market. The trades have all taken place between 14 and 19 June 2024. Directors have up to 5 business days to notify the ASX of their trades.

Top Explorer Trades

Interesting takeaways:

• Arafura Rare Earths: A newly appointed Non-Executive Director (since April 2024) made a sizeable purchase, marking his first acquisition of company shares.

• Meteoric Resources: Executive Chairman Andrew Tunks stands out as the sole director actively trading company shares since late 2022. His recent transactions include a $48,610 purchase at 17.5 cents on 2 February 2024 and a $1 million sale at 20 cents in May 2023. The company recently announced a significant resource upgrade for its Calderia Rare Earths Project in Brazil and is progressing a scoping study.

• Energy Metals: This is a rather interesting company you've probably never heard of, with eight exploration projects located in the Northern Territory and WA. Most of the projects contain uranium and vanadium mineralisation. It's one of three companies authorised by the Chinese government to import and export uranium and its largest shareholder is China Uranium Development Company, which owns approximately two thirds of the $17 million company. Chief Executive Shubiao Tao bid for 237,800 shares marks the company's first insider transaction. Despite the tailwinds for uranium in the past twelve months, the stock is down 33% over the same time period.

Top Tech Trades

Interesting takeaways:

• Ai-Media Technologies: This $72 million market cap company provides live and recorded captioning, transcription, and translation solutions. Its half-year FY24 results showed promising growth with 10% revenue increase to $32.7 million and 39% EBITDA growth to $1.9 million. Chief Executive Anthony Abrahams recently increased his stake by 16.5%, purchasing 5 million shares on-market to reach a total of 35.3 million shares.

Top Biotech Trades

Interesting takeaways:

• Bcal Diagnostics: The company has developed a non-invasive blood test for breast cancer detection, complementing current imaging technologies. A recent $10.5 million capital raise at 10 cents per share (a 42.9% discount) will fund product development, clinical services expansion, and preparation for an Australian market launch in Q4 2024. Executive Chairman Jayne Shaw's purchase of 725,000 shares at 10.6 cents marks the first insider transaction since mid-2023.

• BlinkLab: Following its ASX debut on 2 April 2024 after a $7 million raise at 20 cents per share, this company is developing smartphone-based AI-powered diagnostic tests for autism. Currently working towards an FDA registrational study, several insiders have recently purchased shares, including Non-Executive Directors Richard Hopkins and Jane Morgan, Executive Director Anton Uvarov, and Non-Executive Chairman Brian Leedman.