Forrest keeps shares humming

Andrew Forrest ensured that directors doing some buying held sway on the directors' trades front.

With US short-sellers talking their book and trying to send Fortescue Metals Group's scrip lower, Forrest whipped nearly $24 million out of his wallet and paid $4.53 a share.

The share price has closed higher every day since his buying, closing on Friday at $4.94.

Forrest is no stranger to supporting his stock in the market.

Last year he spent about $135 million within a few days at $4.85 share and followed that with buying at $4.02 and $3.71 a share.

The overall scorecard registered $26.5 million to $29.6 million in favour of buyers.

Beyond International made a rare appearance for that quantity of stock when long-time chairman

Ian Ingram increased his stake. Managing director Mikael Borglund sold shares.

Beyond, which produces TV programs including MythBusters, increased pre-tax earnings by about 7 per cent in the year to June 30.

Also prominent again was iSelect. Until last week, five of the six-man board had recently bought shares, and now non-executive director Shaun Bonett made it a full house.

Leslie Webb gets the boardroom prize for the lowest price paid - $1.27. The shares closed on Friday at $1.29.

Elsewhere, the persistence medallion goes to Jane Tongs, a director of Run Corp, a real estate agency and services group.

Tongs has recently paid 28¢, 30¢ and 35¢ a share.

The chief, Robert Farmer, looks to have turned the ship around; the scrip has more than doubled during the past year.

Robert Velletri, chief at engineering group Monadelphous, took $9.5 million off the table.

The one-time market darling has seen its shares shredded by around one-third this year.