After yesterday’s charge higher, the AIM Index has flatlined through Wednesday’s session, closing down just over one point at 1182.7.
- Mountfield Group up 27%
- Arden Partners up 26%
- Shoe Zone up 9%
- Cambria Africa down 13%
- Aura Energy down 11%
Shares in Mountfield Group [LON:MOGP] battled their way to the top of the table today, adding 27% by the close. The company saw its shares squeezed around the start of the month following news of disposals that left only a cash shell, but news of an investor breaching the 3% holding limit seems to have delivered some renewed enthusiasm for the stock. Shares remain at a discount to February’s levels however and clearly an acquisition target needs to be found.
Corporate advisers Arden Partners [LON:ARDN] were the day’s second biggest risers, adding 26%, although mid-session gains had been even more impressive. The stock is thinly traded and the market cap a mere £4m. There’s also a hulking 20%+ spread being quoted at the close, so it’s difficult to read much into today’s move, but the company does now seem to be getting some credit in the wake of last month’s upbeat earnings news.
Cambria Africa LON:CMB is back on the list for the third time since the start of the month, having been the day’s second biggest faller, off by 13%. No news behind the move but the fall comes in spite of some weighty buy orders being flagged. Again however the company is trading on a very wide spread which arguably masks the price action.
Aura Energy [LON:AURA] was another casualty of the day, with an 11% slide putting as the second biggest faller of the day. Again however there’s no news, trade is exceptionally thin and the move was within the spread. Really would seem that there’s nothing behind this, although it does highlight a continuation of the sell-off that’s been underway since mid-Feb when plans for a share consolidation were announced.
A notable mention for Shoe Zone LON:SHOE (again) which tacked on another 9% today as it looks to recover losses off the back of those results at the start of the week. As we have noted already the company occupies an interesting retail niche. The numbers seem set to remain rather down-at-heel for the next year or so, but in the longer term it’ll be interesting to see if this has legs.
