End of investor lock-up causes further fall in Darktrace share price – CityAM : CityAM

Shares in cybersecurity company Darktrace continue to fall sharply as share lock-up on insiders expires on Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 company fell as much as 14.7 per cent this morning, and was down around 12.5 per cent by midday.

A freeze on insiders offloading shares will end for the company’s biggest investors, meaning tech investors like Mike Lynch will be free to sell almost £3bn shares.

It is common that the end of this period will push prices down by flooding the market with new shares, however, for Darktrace, this also comes alongside Peel Hunt’s “sell” analysis last week.

The broker said the company’s shares were worth half their price and stated: “Darktrace’s strong marketing engine has been a cause of some controversy, as many felt there was a gap between the promise and reality.”

This caused share prices to plummet 23 per cent last Monday, and the company has struggled to climb back up ever since.

The ongoing uncertainty contrasts to Darktrace’s speedy ascent to FTSE 100 status after quadrupling in value since its April float, placing it among Britain’s biggest publicly traded tech companies.

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