The renewed prospect of inflationary pressures emerging throughout 2021 has unsettled equity markets, leaving the AIM Index to face its worst session in three weeks, closing down more than 16 points at 1206.39. For context however, index gains still sit at over 20% for the last three months…
- Premier African Minerals +25%
- Braveheart Investments +21%
- Remote Monitored Systems -31%
- Agriterra -19%
- Eve Sleep -16%
- Trufin +11%
In an exceptionally brisk day of trade, Premier African Minerals LON:PREM saw 25% added to its share price, leaving the stock at the top of the board. There’s no firm news behind the move however and shares are sitting below mid-session highs. The market cap is just over £10m and there’s a 5% quoted spread on the stock – sustaining the gains without some definitive update may be difficult.
Braveheart Investments LON:BRH also had a good day, adding 21% by the close. The company has been on the radar as an investor in Remote Monitored Systems but they also own 100% of a company called Paraytec, which is involved in rapid COVID testing. Results from trials conducted by the company are expected next week and there’s growing talk from Westminster that tests like this will be fundamental to getting the economy open again. If the stars align correctly, this could be genuinely transformative for the business.
Remote Monitored Systems [LON:RMS] has been rattled in Thursday’s trade, down by 31% following an update on the already delayed commissioning of its antiviral mask production facility. Several teething problems have been identified which mean the promised production rate cannot be delivered against. News that raw materials for the next few months have been sourced has failed to placate investors, whilst a board reshuffle has done little, either.
Minnow Agriterra LON:AGTA crashed heavily during the session, although with no hard news and a hulking wide spread of >60% being quoted at the close, the 19% fall – the second biggest on the day – seems somewhat erroneous.
After yesterday’s eye-popping gains, Eve Sleep LON:EVE drifted south today, settling some 16% lower as the third biggest faller. There are big hopes for the homeware sector in general, with many consumers having accrued a lot of money in recent months expected to embark on something of a spending spree come the summer. With full year results due in a month’s time, volatility could be maintained here for a while yet.
A notable mention for Trufin LON:TRU, which owns a portfolio of fintech companies. Shares at one point today were up by more than a quarter, although by the close gains were a more measured 11%. Volumes were far from exceptional but trade has very much been weighted towards buys and with the company advising last month that it was assessing exit options on a couple of portfolio constituents – which would result in capital being returned to shareholders – this could be one to watch. The shares now trade at 75p, well above the 30p seen in November, although the wide spread needs to be taken into account.
