London’s AIM market made a very brief foray into negative territory shortly after the open, before finding its way higher, leaving the index just over 4 points higher on the day at 1201.82 at the closing bell.
- Futura Medical +51%
- 88 Energy + 37%
- Ascent Resources -38%
- Mobile Streams -35%
- B90 Holdings -13%
Futura Medical LON:FUM was the day’s best performer, which added 51% by the close of trading. Things were looking up for the pharmaceuticals company after the US regulator agreed on protocols for the next round of trials in its erectile dysfunction medication. However, with this next phase of testing set to last for six months, there may be some concern that any excitement here could prove to be premature.
88Energy [LON:88E] is back on the agenda, following its 37% advance on the day. An operations update this morning was evidently well received by investors, providing positive details both in terms of drilling progress and also funding. Shares have advanced 200% over the last two weeks.
Ascent Resources LON:AST is the day’s biggest faller, off 38% at the close following an RNS which was published well after the bell on Friday night. The company is in a drawn out dispute with the Slovenian government and has stated that it will now move to initiate arbitration proceedings. With Ascent pursuing damages of over EUR100m – many times the company’s market cap – there’s perhaps some concern here over the costs which could be incurred in the action. A win of this scale would be significant, but investors who picked up shares at the bottom of the market last year are probably happy to book some healthy profits and walk away.
A heavily discounted placing saw shares in Mobile Streams LON:MOS slide 35% on the day. In addition to the knock down price, there’s also a meaningful dilution here but in the wake of last week’s news that the company was exploring a number of acquisitions including some in the mobile gaming sector, there’s clearly optimism over where this could go.
A notable mention for B90 Holdings LON:B90, which we covered on a couple of occasions last week. The stock reversed a further 13% by today’s close to around 15.5p and whilst that still translated into a 250% gain from the 4.5p price when the stock came out of suspension, it’s well below last week’s high of 38p. Definitely one to watch, but not quite the trajectory some had been hoping for.
