Nikhil Eapen, StarHub’s CEO, on Nov 25 acquired 730,000 shares for over $1 million or $1.377904 each on the open market. Before this transaction, Eapen, who began this role in January, did not own any StarHub shares.

He was previously deputy CEO of ST Telemedia and prior to that, a long-time investment banker with Citigroup where he helped advise deals in the region’s telco, media and technology sectors.

StarHub recently announced that it has made more cost savings than targeted as part of its wider restructuring and transformation plan to reverse itself out of an earnings decline.

StarHub has also set out a five-year plan to FY2026 (the company has a December year end) to expand its offerings to its consumer customers and to also capture more business opportunities with its next-generation 5G mobile network.

See also: <a class='gtm_see_also_1_inread' style='text-decoration: underline;' href='/capital/insider-moves/dyna-mac-ceo-tops-stake-amid-new-orders-directors-multi-chem-pick-more-shares?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=ONPAGESEO'>Dyna-Mac CEO tops up stake amid new orders; directors of Multi-Chem pick up more shares</a>

Dr Ng Chia Siau, founder and CEO of Q&M Dental Group, also bought shares under his own direct stake for the first time. On Nov 26, he acquired 1.9 million shares for $1.17 million or 61.65 cents each. On Nov 29, he bought another 3.63 million shares for $2.34 million or 64.5 cents per share. This brings his direct stake to 5.53 million or 0.59%.

Prior to this, Ng held his stake in the company via an entity called Quan Min Holdings, which he controls. On Nov 25, Quan Min was used to buy 3.5 million shares on the open market for about $2.1 million or 60.14 cents each. This was a continuation of regular buying made via Quan Min last month.

As of Nov 30, including his direct and deemed stakes, Ng has a total interest of 54.09% in the company. Q&M has been doing share buybacks too. For example, on Nov 11, Q&M bought back around 1.73 million shares at prices ranging from between 57 cents and 58 cents each. Thus far, Q&M has bought back around 5.33 million shares under the current mandate.

Q&M reported earnings rose 69% y-o-y to $9.5 million for 3QFY2021 ended Sept 30. Revenue in the same period also rose 48% y-o-y to $57.7 million, led by a surge in revenue from its medical laboratory and dental equipment and supplies segment. Q&M has declared its third dividend this financial year. It plans to pay one cent per share in 3Q, which is similar to the preceding two quarters.

See also: <a class='gtm_see_also_2_inread' style='text-decoration: underline;' href='/capital/insider-moves/fund-raises-raffles-medical-stake-geo-energy-lead-id-and-shareholder-lower?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=ONPAGESEO'>Fund raises Raffles Medical stake; Geo Energy lead ID and shareholder lower stakes</a>

Japfa, which operates chicken, pig and cow farms, has resumed its share buyback activities in November, picking up where it left off in January. Since Nov 22, the company has been buying back shares almost every day.

The most recent acquisition was made on Dec 1 when it paid between 60.5 and 62.5 cents each for 941,200 shares. This brings total shares bought back under the current mandate to more than 5.1 million or 0.25% of its total share base.

On Oct 28, Japfa reported a 22.2% y-o-y jump in revenue to US$3.4 billion ($2.65 billion) for the nine months ended Sept 30. However, due to higher raw material costs for feed and lower selling prices due to the pandemic, earnings for the period fell 12.4% y-o-y to US$113.9 million.

Following the earnings report, CGS-CIMB Research analyst Tay Wee Kuang has kept his “hold” call on Japfa with an unchanged target price of 77 cents. He expects margins to remain tight in the near future as cost pass-through has been delayed owing to weakness in consumption patterns.

In an Oct 26 report, DBS Group Research analyst Cheria Christi Widjaja maintained her “buy” on Japfa but trimmed her target price from $1.05 to 89 cents. At current levels, Widjaja deems its valuation “attractive” at four times EV/Ebitda and six times P/E. “The market is ignoring the group’s long-term prospects on growing consumption of animal protein and its geographical diversification,” she says.

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