Insider: Backing these two recovery plays

Mothercare trio dig deep

In early 2010, Mothercare shares were worth almost 700p. A few months ago they could be bought for 105p, not far off prices last seen 14 years ago. And, like in 2003, the babycare retailer has been dogged by profits warnings.

And full-year results, published two weeks ago, came with a warning that store numbers will continue to decline "over time", as the company, currently looking for a new finance director, targets "key conurbations across the UK".

However, after a recovery during the second half of its financial year, Mothercare's UK operations just made their first profit in six years. Growth in like-for-like sales slowed by over two-thirds in the 52 weeks ended 25 March to 1.1%.

Total sales here were flat and, after a UK deficit of £8.8 million in the first half, full-year losses halved to £4.4 million after the firm made £4.4 million in the final six months.

There were signs of recovery overseas, too, in fast-growing Russia and Indonesia. It's tough in the Middle East and, although sales are on the up in China, Mothercare still hasn't returned to cash profit there.

This level of performance has failed to ignite much interest in the shares, however. But the board clearly thinks the market's missing a trick and is piling in.

Chairman Alan Parker just bought 100,000 at 120.25p, non-executive director Tea Colaianni and John Wyatt bought a combined 40,000 at 121p, and non-exec Richard Rivers snapped up 60,000 at the same price.

Total spend: over £240,000

He's off, but Anglo man still buying

To brave investors who called the bottom of Anglo American's share price plunge from £35 to £2.30 in early 2016, well done. A spectacular bounce on recovering commodity prices returned a sixfold profit.

However, chairman Sir John Parker has just taken advantage of a 29% reversal in the miner's share price, spending a mighty £663,000 on 62,696 Anglo shares at 1,057p.

And £10 is an established level of technical support. Maybe Sir John has done his analysis.

Whatever, it's certainly a vote of confidence given Sir John said earlier this year that he would step down in 2017 after eight years in the role.

"The company, with its much restored balance sheet and a world class board and management team…is well placed for the future," he said then.

Shortly after, Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal bought a stake in Anglo worth over 11% of the business. He's already chairman at fellow miner Vedanta, and talk is he'd like to merge the two businesses. We know he's tried, but consensus is it's unlikely.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.