London’s AIM Index was sitting almost 10 points lower by the closing bell tonight, underperforming the main market, although with one of the biggest players on the board facing some hulking losses, this will go a long way to explaining why the cap-weighted index has had such a bad day.
- Bacanora Lithium +26
- Proteome Sciences +18
- Prophotonix -19%
- ITM Power -16%
- Clear Leisure +18%
Bacanora Lithium [LON:BCM] added 26% after news of a possible offer was notified to the market. The suitor is a major shareholder who currently has part ownership of the Sonora Lithium project. The acquisition would make them the whole owner and a proposed price of 67.5p per share has been tabled. That represents a 50% uplift from yesterday’s close, so today’s gains could still leave some room for opportunity.
Proteome Sciences LON:PRM reached the bell some 18% up and appear to have recorded further gains in the auction. The company’s stock has been gaining ground in recent weeks although volumes today seemed unremarkable and there’s also a wide spread to take into account. The world of diagnostics is certainly back in focus and a re-rate could already be well underway.
Prophotonix [LON:PPIX] was the day’s biggest faller, off some 19%, although this stock has made it onto our radar several times before with some surprising price action The usual caveats apply of this being a £5m market cap company trading on a rather wide spread, although the day’s elevated volumes are also worthy of note. No formal news has been released.
ITM Power LON:ITM was the day’s second biggest faller, but is also the proverbial 800lb gorilla in the equation. The company has a market cap of around £2bn but managed to see 16% of that eroded by the closing bell, leaving the stock testing levels not seen since last December. There’s no fundamental news behind the move and as we noted yesterday the sector as a whole is struggling, but the stock has lost one third of its value in a week. Where’s the floor?
A notable mention for Clear Leisure [LON:CLP], which is again no stranger to the column and was sitting 18% higher at the closing bell. The company has just announced a new name “Quantum Blockchain Technologies” which drove some enthusiasm, albeit at a smaller rate than other re-badges may have seen and sentiment ebbed away through the afternoon, too. This remains an interesting company with some diverse interests beyond its blockchain ambitions.
