3.30pm ... Shire shares hit as CFO announces quit plans
Shares in Shire PLC (LON:SHP) were marked down 3.5% after it was announced its chief financial officer is quitting. Jeff Poulton will leave the FTSE 100 drug giant at the end of the year to join Boston-based start-up Indgo Ag, a plant health specialist.
Some in the market will see the timing of Poulton’s departure as problematic, coming as it does midway through the integration of Baxalta, the American company Shire purchased for US$32bn. However this wasn’t how the exiting CFO was spinning his change of employer.
"As Shire finalises the integration of Baxalta and focuses on paying down debt, this also presents a perfect time for me to begin this transition," he said. At 3.30pm, the stock, which has drifted 22% lower in the past year, was changing hands for £36.31.
2.25pm ... Cadence on the up
Mining investment firm Cadence Minerals (LON:KDNC) was up 11% mid-afternoon at 0.454p afer it confirmed it is in discussion to sell its 16% stake in Bacanora Minerals (CVE:BCN). Based on Friday’s closing price, the Bacanora shares are worth around C$30mln, or £18.5mln or roughly half Cadence’s market capitalisation.
12.54pm ... logistics firm runs into a roadblock
DX Group (LON:DX) shares slumped 13% to 8.22p after the resumption of trading on AIM and following the abandonment of its £40mln reverse takeover of Menzies Distribution. Stock in the logistics specialist had been suspended since March as the two sides haggled over a deal that was revised down from £60mln. The transaction was canned after DX sounded the earnings alarm, saying the full-year would be broadly flat.
11.45am ... Get shortie? No, get Carillion
Ahead of next month's interim figures the hedge funds have been tweaking their holdings. Marshall Wace has the biggest Carillion short position in the market, though it’s not quite as large as it was. It has borrowed 2.44% of the company’s stock to cover its short. Polar Capital and TT International have increased their respective ‘shorts’. Currently, Carillion is the most shorted stock on the market with 22.6% of the shares out on loan, according to Castellain Capital’s Short Tracker. The next biggest short is Ocado PLC (LON:OCDO) with 17.4% on loan, followed by Wood Group PLC (LON:WG.) at 15.5%.
11.15am ... 88 Energy higher as it prepares to restart well test
A revival of sorts for shares in 88 Energy PLC (LON:8EE, ASX:88E), a favourite with punters both here and in the Antipodes. The stock’s advanced around 27% in the last month, although looking at the bigger picture a different story materialises with the share price off 20% in the year to date. What frightened the cattle? Well, 88 is finding it a little more difficult than first envisaged to assess the potential of its shale play on Alaska’s North Slope. Flow testing was suspended around six weeks ago to allow pressure to build and soaking to occur with work slated to restart later Monday. That probably explains why the stock is currently 4% up at 2.17p.
9.30am: Hikma and dead cats; Froniter's Jurassic lark
There was what can best be described as a dead cat bounce for Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK) after last week’s profits warning, precipitated by the faltering performance of the generics arm. The stock, off 12% in the last five trading days and down 40% in the year to date, advanced 1.4% to £11.40 early on.The rebound came in spite of a significant downgrade by Peel Hunt Monday, which shaved 30% from its earnings forecast and lowered its price target to £13.90 from £21.50. Even with that sort of haircut, there is some upside to the Peel Hunt valuation, though the broker is sticking with its ‘hold’ recommendation.
Games company Frontier Developments was bid 15% higher to 840p after it confirmed it had teamed up with an offshoot of Universal Pictures to develop Jurassic World Evolution, based in the Jurassic Park film franchise. Due for release next summer, to coincide with the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, it will be available for PS4, Xbox One and PC. Broker Liberum said: “This supports our forecast doubling of revenues in full-year 2019, our short-term target price of 850p, and a longer-term view that the business can scale substantially as new game franchises translate into major cash returns for shareholders.”
Proactive news headlines:
Rambler Metals and Mining PLC (LON:RMM)(CVE:RAB) has boosted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2017 to US$1.2mln from a US$1.5mln loss the previous quarter. Production costs fell as the company continued to mine into new areas of the Lower Footwall Zone at the Ming mine. The copper price was also stronger during the quarter.
Savannah Resources PLC (LON:SAV) has boosted its ownership of the Jangama mineral sands project in Mozambique to 100%, via an all-share transaction. The company remains in joint venture with Rio Tinto over the wider Mutamba project.
Sula Iron and Gold PLC (LON:SULA) is raising £900,000 to carry exploration work at the Ferensola gold project in Sierra Leone, well into 2018. A maiden resource at the Samana Hill portion is expected shortly.
An extended trial of PowerHouse Energy Group PLC’s (LON:PHE) waste-to-power system has returned some encouraging results. Its G3-UHt unit used a feedstock of tyre crumb as part of the extended trial at the Energy Centre of Thornton Science Park in Cheshire.
ITM Power PLC (LON:ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, has welcomed the launch of the Hydrogen for Transport Programme (HTP). HTP will provide up to £23mln to increase the uptake of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and grow the UK hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.
Formula 1 is finally tapping into the growing eSports market and it has chosen Gfinity PLC (LON:GFIN) as its official partner to help deliver its upcoming ESports Series. Gfinity’s job will be to use its experience and market-leading technology to deliver a successful and seamless tournament that will help to grow F1’s popularity among its younger fan base.
Graphene-based products maker Directa Plus PLC (LON:DCTA) has hired textiles industry veteran Luca Provolo as its new head of sales. Provolo will help to oversee Directa’s transition from the R&D stage to the commercialisation and sales phase when he takes up his new job at the start of September.
Ortac Resources Ltd (LON:OTC) chairman Anthony Balme has told investors he is excited by the company's strong position, as the natural resources sector is showing “notable signs of a recovery”. The AIM-quoted mining group is set to benefit from an uplift in commodities prices, he added.
Tlou Energy Ltd (LON:TLOU) has landed a mining licence in Botswana, allowing it to advance the Lesedi coalbed methane gas project. It marks a transition for the project, into the development phase from exploration and appraisal.
Wishbone Gold PLC (LON:WSBN) told investors it had agreed a new funding deal with institutional investors, arranged by RiverFort Global Capital. It sees new shares being issued at a price of 0.7p each.