Online Retailer THG Caps Rollercoaster Week

(Bloomberg) -- THG Plc rose after a volatile week as a non-executive director gave the online retail group a vote of confidence by buying some stock above the market price. 

The shares jumped as much as 9.8% after a filing showed Zillah Byng-Thorne, chief executive officer of GoCompare-owner Future Plc, bought 32,291 shares at 200.2 pence each on Thursday, representing a premium of about 2% to the closing price. 

Formerly known as The Hut Group, THG has lost nearly three quarters of its market value in 2021 as analysts raised concerns over the growth outlook for its e-commerce platform Ingenuity, used by third parties to sell goods. Worries about corporate governance have also weighed on the firm, which operates online shops for things like beauty and nutrition products.

The stock slumped on Tuesday after BlackRock Inc., its second-largest shareholder, sold shares at a discount.

According to Thursday’s filing, an associate of Byng-Thorne also bought 25,300 shares, at a price of 196.2 pence apiece, matching Thursday’s closing price. 

THG was up 6.8% to 209.60 pence as of 10:37 a.m. in London.

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