London’s AIM Index has closed in the red tonight, meaning a second consecutive month of losses for the junior market, although with gains exceeding 40% over the last year, there’s arguably little cause for concern. At the bell the index sat almost six points down at 1250.17.
- Hurricane Energy +25%
- Hutchmed +19%
- Catenae Innovation -31%
- Tricorn Group -21%
- Remote Monitored Systems -12%
Hurricane Energy LON:HUR is also in focus again, adding a further 25% in the wake of a series of director resignations. They had been pushing for a financial restructuring of the company, but this was pushed back by the high court earlier in the week. Shares now sit around six times higher than levels seen last month.
Hutchmed LON:HCM was in favour with UK listed stock rising just under 20% by the bell following the successful admission of a listing on the Hong Kong exchange. Shares had been offered on the Asian exchange at just over HK$40 each, opened at HK$51.40 and settled at HK$60.30, making for a solid debut and in turn driving the overall valuation higher.
Catenae Innovation LON:CTEA sank 31% by the bell following the release of both full year results to September 30th 2020 and interims to March 31st 2021 this morning. The bottom line is that the company hasn’t been generating the revenues expected and investors are dumping the stock as a result. Acquisition activity and hopes of progress of a government contract may offer some optimism over the longer term, but shares finished the day at levels not seen in over a year.
Tricorn Group [LON:TCN] was the day’s second biggest loser, with shares finishing some 21% lower. Results for the 18 months to 30th September 2020 were published this morning and these highlight that current borrowing facilities won’t be sufficient to return the company to a cash generative position. Various funding options are being explored but supply chain issues and wage inflation add further headwinds. Losses are to some extent however mitigated by the oft seen combination of a small market cap and very wide quoted spread.
A notable mention for Remote Monitored Systems [LON:RMS] which saw shares fall 12% today. The company buzzed higher earlier in the week on what may have been related to an NHS survey that simply validated the use of FFP3 masks, rather than the company’s own model, in protecting against COVID infections in hospitals. Shares do however remain well above last week’s lows.
