LONDON (ShareCast) - A number of options have been exercised and cashed today, with directors in Standard Chartered, Johnson Matthey and Stagecoach all netting sizeable sums.

Legal and risk specialist Richard Meddings has sharply cut his holding in colonial bank Standard Chartered and raised just over £1.7m gross through the disposal of 140,00 options and incentive shares.

Standard has had a difficult few days with what seemed at face value a strong trading statement getting panned by analysts who detected a note of caution in its comments.

Some company watchers added that there could also be an element of profit taking in the recent share price dip, as the Standard share price has risen by more than a quarter this year.

Top Director Buys
Allied Irish Bank (ALBK)
Director name: Mr Robert Wilmers
Amount purchased: 37,800 @ € 18.09
Value: € 683,802

Value and Income (VIN)
Director name: Mr Matthew A Oakeshott
Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 201.50p
Value: £100,750

LiDCO (LID)
Director name: Mr Ian Brown
Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 24.00p
Value: £24,000

GETECH Group (GTC)
Director name: Mr Peter Stephens
Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 44.00p
Value: £22,000

Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE)
Director name: Ms Susan Rice
Amount purchased: 2,000 @ 985.80p
Value: £19,716

Chamberlin and Hill (CMH)
Director name: Mr Francis Keith John Jackson
Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 230.75p
Value: £11,538

Radstone Technology (RST)
Director name: Mr Malcolm Baggott
Amount purchased: 3,500 @ 291.00p
Value: £10,185


Top Director Sells
Standard Chartered (STAN)
Director name: Mr Richard H Meddings
Amount sold: 139,740 @ 1,225.00p
Value: £1,711,815

Stagecoach Group (SGC)
Director name: Mr Graham Eccles
Amount sold: 1,183,704 @ 116.12p
Value: £1,374,517

Stagecoach Group (SGC)
Director name: Mr Martin Griffiths
Amount sold: 666,667 @ 116.12p
Value: £774,134

Johnson Matthey (JMAT)
Director name: Mr D W Morgan
Amount sold: 33,307 @ 1,297.00p
Value: £431,992

Hardman Resources (HNR)
Director name: Mr Scott S Spencer
Amount sold: 202,540 @ 83.27p
Value: £168,655

Rensburg Sheppards (RBG)
Director name: Mr Nicholas Bagshawe
Amount sold: 3,655 @ 702.00p
Value: £25,658

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