Big spenders go for Coffey

Beaten-down stocks linked to the resource sector featured on the directors' trades front this week.

Returning to the well was a contingent from Coffey International, which provides engineering and project management services.

Last week, six Coffey directors waded into the market after the shares were discounted from 23¢ to 10¢. Three of the biggest spenders have now acquired more shares at slightly higher prices, led by chief John Douglas.

He's just spent $248,274, compared with $594,008 previously.

Chairman John Mulcahy and numbers man Urs Meyerhans also returned to the fray.

Elsewhere, two directors of WorleyParsons, which provides design and project services to the resources industry, bought at sharply discounted prices.

The stock has slipped about 18 per cent in recent days; chief Andrew Wood and JB McNeil were buyers.

Downer EDI, which provides engineering and infrastructure services, has fallen about 26 per cent this month and non-executive director Grant Thorne and chairman Michael Harding were buyers.

The overall scorecard registered $4.7 million to $63.4 million in favour of sellers.

Taking a dominant hand was Rodney Jones, the chief at education provider Navitas.

The co-founder peeled off paper of more than $48 million, with institutional buyers paying $5.66 apiece.

Now it must have seemed like easy money as the stock sold up to $6.08 about the time of the placement. But the market sell-off in recent days has seen the share price lopped just a little, selling down yesterday to $5.44.

Jones still has a useful little nest egg: he's sitting on a $248 million stake.

He said he had no intention of selling any more shares in the short to medium term.

Over at private health insurer, NIB Holdings, Mark Fitzgibbon sold some shares to pay for a new family home.