Insider buying at Ackroo

Ackroo (Ackroo Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSXV:AKR) may have gotten off to a rocky start in it public life, but insiders are taking the opportunity to load up on shares.

CFO John Chapman yesterday picked up 15,000 shares at $.16 and $17, adding to the 20,000 shares he bought in December. Chairman Jeff Durno was also buyng at that time, purchasing 25,000 shares at $.175.

Shares of Ackroo bottomed at $.075 in early March, but have since rebounded to more than double that. The move has coincided with a shuffling at the top. On March 11th, the company appointed co-founder Eamonn Garry as CEO. Garry, who held a variety of senior engineering and management roles at Nortel Networks, Amdocs, Bridgewater Systems, began with the company, which was then known as MoneyBar, as Chief Technology Officer.

Ottawa-based Ackroo began with a rethinking of the digital electronic payment interchange platform, where Garry and co-founder Tyler Nelson looked to apply their considerable knowledge of the telecom sector’s changes to a space they felt would undergo a similar evolution. The result is a solution that allows small and medium sized business to implement loyalty programs that can compete with national and international firms without breaking the bank.

Garry says the company is looking forward to 2013.

“In 2012, we formed new alliances with strategic partners in the payments industry which accelerated our go to market plan,” he said in a note accompanying the company’s recent financials. “We also gained many new customers and continued to advance our product suite. We have a unique approach to our market with industry-leading innovative technology deployment coupled with supporting business practices. We believe we are positioned for success in 2013.”

Disclosure: Ackroo is an annual sponsor of Cantech Letter.