The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has sought information from Steadfast in connection with trading in the company’s shares by two employees.

Steadfast says it received statutory notices from the regulator to produce documents and information in relation to the trading between August 30 and September 2 this year. 

“Steadfast is reviewing the correspondence from ASIC and will respond in compliance with its legal obligations,” it said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday.

“It is not certain whether ASIC will take any action as a result of its investigation, or what may be the scope of any such action.”

An ASIC spokesperson told insuranceNEWS.com.au the regulator does not comment on its investigations and cannot provide further details.

The regulator has previously noted that its oversight of real-time markets provides account-level data on all trades, which enables it to undertake a granular assessment. 

The trading period under examination is before Steadfast’s shares slumped due to ABC reporting on the strata sector that included a focus on the company.

An article was published on Monday September 9 before that night’s Four Corners program, which included parts of a pre-recorded interview with CEO Robert Kelly.

The company rejected allegations made in the program and said it had provided the ABC with information on August 29 and September 4 that was not included.

Steadfast shares declined from $6.35 at the close on Friday September 6 to $5.32 at the end of trading on Tuesday September 10. They finished last week at $5.77.

From Insurance News magazine: Think you know this industry? Take our end-of-year quiz to find out