Darktrace boss snaps up shares after sell-off
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Darktrace boss grabs £100,000 worth of shares in technology company as a vote of confidence following a short-seller attack earlier this week
Confidence vote: Poppy Gustafsson bought 48,000 shares of common stock
Darktrace’s boss has picked up £100,000 worth of shares in the tech company as a vote of confidence following a short-seller attack earlier this week.
Poppy Gustafsson bought 48,000 shares of common stock in the cybersecurity firm on Wednesday.
The 40-year-old CEO bought the shares at an aggregate price of £2,254 per share, the equivalent of £108,000 in total.
It comes after the Cambridge-based FTSE 250 company defended itself against claims it had fabricated customers in an attempt to inflate sales numbers.
A report from New York-based short-seller Quintessential Capital Management, published on Tuesday, alleged that Darktrace had used irregular accounting practices. The company was accused by the US Hedge Fund of simulating sales to “phantom” clients through a “network of willing resellers” and possibly misrepresenting the nature of the earnings.
Gustafsson called the allegations “baseless inferences” on Wednesday, as the company launched a £75m share buyback.
The boss added that she would “repress in the strongest terms any suggestions that this is a company that is not run with the utmost integrity.”
She continued: “Our technology is world-class, made right here in the UK by some of the brightest minds, and we’re solving one of society’s most pressing challenges: the appalling costs of cyber disruption.”
The company would also “continue to answer any legitimate questions that may arise,” she said. Darktrace made its blockbuster debut on the London Stock Exchange in April 2021.
But the valuation has since taken a hit, falling 40 percent in the past year. Following the short-seller attack, Darktrace’s share price fell below its 2021 IPO of 250p.
Shares rallied higher yesterday to close at 243.1p, but still below the listing price.
In a note, broker Jefferies, who led Darktrace’s public offering, said the company issued a “robust rebuttal” that answered many of Quintessential’s points.
Cathy Graham’s arrival as chief financial officer ahead of its market debut had strengthened processes to ensure it had legitimate financial systems in place, the broker added.
As part of the list, Darktrace reviewed contracts and disregarded those that were out of order.
These were “small in number” and should “provide comfort for investors” on annual recurring revenue, Jefferies said.