Buying chances downstream

What do you do if your share price gets hammered by 51 per cent in two trading sessions?

Well, chances are that if you were a director of Service Stream, you'd get in touch with your stockbroker and place a buying order.

Three of the four-member Service Stream board did just that on Thursday.

The previous day, the company announced bad news on its national broadband front and reduced - in the space of one month - forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the current year from $34 million to $20 million.

The scrip fell from 38¢ to 22¢ on Wednesday and as low as 18.5¢ on Thursday.

Chairman Peter Dempsey increased his stake by 78 per cent, managing director Graeme Sumner lifted his ownership by 43 per cent, non-executive director Stephe Wilks nearly doubled his holding and Deborah Page's shareholding was up 56 per cent.

They paid between 19.4¢ and 21.5¢ a share and they're ahead of the game - at least on that lot - as the scrip closed the week at 23.5¢.

Ten per cent of the capital was booked on the exchange during the last three days, and at the latest closing price, the provider of services to the telecommunications, energy and water industries was valued at $67 million.

Mr Sumner said that the group's approach to construction activities would be reviewed and that the "company continues to be well positioned in each of its major markets, with a solid outlook for the 2014 financial year and beyond."

Elsewhere, folk with decent-sized stakes in Ainsworth, Mastermyne and Cedar Woods took some cash off the table.

On the buying side, former Macquarie Bank staffer Mark Baillie continued to build his stake in Folkestone, a real estate funds manager, investor and developer.

Since joining the board as deputy chairman in February he has spent close enough to $1 million on the scrip.