Utilities stocks SSE plc (LON:SSE) and Centrica PLC (LON:CNA) took a licking yesterday as Theresa May confirmed plans to cap energy price rises.
HSBC was quick today to trim its price targets for both; SSE’s price target was cut to 1,530p from 1,590p while Centrica’s was reduced to 190p from 202p.
SSE was still rated as a ‘hold’, however, which might explain why it rose 20p today to 1,387p, while Centrica, no better than a ‘hold’ in HSBC’s view, eased 0.8% to 177.9p.
A downgrade from ‘add’ to ‘hold’ by Peel Hunt did a little damage to the share price of newsagent WH Smith Plc (LON:SWMH) – down 1.2% to 2,054p – but the broker stuck with its 1,850p price target.
Buses and trains group Stagecoach Group PLC (LON:SGC) trundled forward, advancing 0.3% to 169.6p after Liberum Capital cranked up its price target from 155p to 170p.
Mountfield in the habit of springing pleasant surprises
Mountfield Group PLC (LON:MOGP) is not a stock used to lording it over the rest of the LSE universe … until this week.
The shares surged 13% to 2.15p on Thursday, pushing the market capitalisation up to a heady £5mln, on news of a £1.02mln contract win.
Bizarrely, a bigger contract win (worth £1.65mln) announced on Monday only sent the shares 11% higher that day.
Be that as it may, the stock is up almost 20% this week – and the week’s not over yet.
Ortac Resources Ltd (LON:OTC) was also enjoying a rare spell in the sun this morning on the back of an announcement by Casa Mining, in which it holds a 45% stake.
Casa reported “extremely encouraging” results from the first two diamond core drill hole assays taken from the Akyanga gold deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
READ: Ortac Resources says Casa Mining has reported “extremely encouraging” assay results from Akyanga gold deposit in the DRC
A gentle reminder from CEO generates some "double bubble"
Shares in Amphion Innovations PLC (LON:AMP) were on the rise again today after a bit of gentle griping from chief executive Richard Morgan.
Amphion’s shares soared yesterday as the value of its stake in Motif Bio PLC (LON:MTFB, NASDAQ:MTFB) spiked following a successful Phase III trial of Motif’s lead candidate, iclaprim.
Morgan, while welcoming yesterday’s announcement, is still not totally happy.
“Amphion owns 14.1% of Motif Bio, and we continue to believe that Motif Bio is not fully valued compared to other comparable antibiotic companies at the same stage of development," he said.
Shares in Amphion rose 11% to 2.08p in the first hour of trading on Thursday, suggesting the market agrees with him.
Drilling for oil in a place called Paradox Basin is possibly tempting fate, but Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE) is pressing ahead with its 3D seismic exploration campaign in the expectation of identifying some juicy prospect in the basin, which is in Utah.
“The seismic is key to unlocking the acreage, by not only identifying drill targets but also steering the horizontal leg of the wells,” said chief executive Matthew Idiens.
Proactive news headlines:
Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE) confirmed it is advancing its 3D seismic exploration campaign in the Paradox basin, Utah. The company highlighted that field operations started shortly after its recent funding, and it is now “well on track” with the seismic shoot and it anticipates completion ahead of the company’s own schedule, targeting the year-end..
Ortac Resources Ltd (LON:OTC) has announced that Casa Mining Ltd - in which it holds an effective 45% stake - has reported “extremely encouraging” results from the first two diamond core drill hole assays taken from the Akyanga gold deposit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. AIM-listed Premier African Minerals Ltd (LON:PREM) also owns a 4.5% stake in Casa Mining.
SDX Energy Inc. (LON:SDX, CVE:SDX) has announced a new oil discovery in Egypt, with the Rabul-2 well unearthing heavy crude in the West Gharib concession. Rabul-2 hit some 101.5 feet of net oil pay across the Yusr and Bakr formations, and the company expects the well will be completed as a new producer connected to processing facilities at the Meseda field.
Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (LON:CMCL) has announced record quarterly gold production from the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. In a statement, the AIM-listed firm said approximately 14,389 ounces of gold were produced during the quarter, 15% higher than the previous quarter and 7% higher than the corresponding quarter of 2016.
Bezant Resources PLC (LON:BZT) has raised £700,000 of new capital through the issue of new shares, with the cash injection earmarked for working capital. The junior mining group said the capital will provide support as it moves towards the start of production from higher-grade gravels at the Choco project, in Colombia.
W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) has raised £1mln of new capital to support the company during the ongoing construction phase of the La Parrilla mine development in Portugal. The company is meanwhile working to close a US$30mln financing facility for La Parilla.
Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) has struck a deal to sell its entire Italian portfolio of assets, allowing it to focus on core assets in Morocco. The deal is, however, structured as a share based transaction that’s more akin to a ‘spin-out’ rather than a cash boosting exchange.
Amphion PLC (LON:AMP), which has a 14.1% stake in Motif Bio PLC (LON:MTFB, NASDAQ:MTFB), believes Motif is still not fully valued, even after its shares soared from 36.75p to 44.5p yesterday after its lead drug sailed through a critical Phase III trial.
Glycotest, a portfolio company of NetScientific PLC (LON:NSCI) has had a Japanese patent granted to it over a biomarker for early-stage liver cancer.
ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY) is to acquire some assets from a Canadian company with intellectual property that complements ANGLE’s Parsortix liquid biopsy platform for £3.7mln. It is also proposing to raise £12.2mln through the issue of shares at 35p a pop.
Annual results from SkinBioTherapeutics PLC (LON:SBTX) chart a period of significant progress, including April’s listing on AIM (which brought in £4.5mln) and the demonstration of the three modes of action of its platform, SkinBiotix. It is developing the technology as a cosmetic, a hand cream that protects against hospital-acquired infections and a treatment for eczema.
Avacta Group PLC (LON:AVCT) is teaming up with a company from Finland called FIT Biotech to develop a technology that helps the body create its drugs. To do this scientists somehow need to deliver the DNA blueprint that encodes the protein, or gene into the patient's cells.
Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN) is raising £10mln from a small pool of institutional investors – cash that will be used to fund an early access programme for its lead drug, Traumakine. Shares are being issued at 800p each, which is a modest 2% discount to Wednesday’s closing price. The company will receive £9.4mln once the costs of the fundraise are deducted.
Highlands Natural Resources PLC (LON:HNR) has extended the timeline for its East Denver Niobrara shale project in Colorado. The end date has moved to December 2020 from 2018; the timeline from drilling to completion of each well extends from 180 to 270 days while the gap between the drilling of wells is now 180 days from 90.
Kin Group PLC (LON:KIN) expects a company voluntary arrangement, £1mln placing and share capital restructure to be completed by about 26 October, when its shares should resume trading on AIM. Kin will be a cash shell when it relists and will have six months to carry out a reverse takeover, otherwise it will have its AIM status cancelled.