Osirium Technologies PLC (AIM:OSI) more than doubled this week after the cybersecurity and IT automation software specialist boasted of a record quarter for bookings.
It must be all those companies worried about attacks from Russian hackers.
The group said it is seeing continued growth in contract values and a return to pre-pandemic levels. Five of the contracts secured in the first three months of the 2022 financial year are each at a larger value than any individual contract signed in fiscal 2021.
Elsewhere in the technology sector, ENGAGE XR Holdings PLC, a virtual reality (VR) technology company, shot up 41% after an announcement from its partner, VictoryXR.
VictoryXR announced the launch of 10 “metaversities” in the US this autumn.
Each college or university will roll out a digital twin, replica campus for students to attend whether they are on campus or learning remotely, the statement said.
"Just like the real world, students will be able to break into small groups and work on projects together, no matter their physical distance, but unlike the real world, they will be able to shrink to the size of Ant-man and tour the human body,” said Steve Grubbs, the chief executive officer of VictoryXR.
Well, I suppose with a name like Grubbs, a weird fixation with insects is understandable …
Another tech success story this week was Journeo PLC (AIM:JNEO), the provider of information systems and technical services to transport operators and local authorities, which announced a new framework agreement with First Bus UK.
The shares motored 38% higher as the company revealed it was the group’s largest framework agreement to date. It will initially run for three years until March 2025, is expected to generate £9mln in revenues and includes an option to extend the term by a further two years through to March 2027.
Shares in Russia-focused oil and gas explorer Petroneft Resources have been out of favour this year for obvious reasons, losing two-thirds of their value in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but the shares attracted buying interest this week, sending them up by more than a third to 1.7p.
It has been a good week for Avacta Group PLC (AIM:AVCT), the diagnostics company, which issued full-year results on Wednesday.
The oncology firm boasted of a "period of transformational progress" in 2021, with the group marking its transition into a clinical-stage company with its Therapeutics Division celebrating the dosing of the first patient in the Phase I study of the group’s AVA6000 asset.
The share price boost from the results was followed on Friday by an even bigger one after AffyXell Therapeutics, Avacta’s joint venture with Daewoong Pharmaceutical, entered into a collaboration with Chinese biological drugs developer Biocytogen and the Korea Non-Clinical Technology Solution Centre.
The collaboration is aimed at developing new immune disease in vivo models and carrying out proof-of-concept and toxicity testing of AffyXell's drug candidates using the developed disease models.
Avacta shares surged 32% on the glut of good news.
Sector peer Omega Diagnostics Group PLC (AIM:ODX) jumped 22% after it said it saw strong revenue growth last year even as the boost from Covid faded away.
The in-vitro diagnostic products maker said future revenues related to Covid are expected to be minimal but the market focused on the 41% increase in revenues to 12.3mln in the year to the end of March, which was driven by an increase in the contribution from the Health & Nutrition division to £8.6mln from £6.8mln the year before.
Investors are on the lookout for increased production from the oil companies at the best of times but in the current environment, any news of record reserves from an oil producer is sure to attract the attention of the market.
So it proved with i3 Energy PLC, which said its Canadian subsidiary had record reserves at the end of 2021, while the quarter just ended saw its highest production ever.
Shares in i3 rose by around a third this week.
The worst performer this week was Sensyne Health, which announced the departure of the company’s founder and chief executive alongside financing plans as it said discussions are continuing with a “small number of parties” interested in buying the business.
The shares lost around three-quarters of their value.
Another company on the slide after a funding update and a directorate change was Bonhill Group PLC (LSE:BONH), the business-to-business media firm.
Simon Stilwell, its chief executive officer, resigned with immediate effect to pursue other business opportunities. Meanwhile, the company is seeking to raise roughly £1.1mln through the issue of shares at 5.5p.
On Friday, the shares were trading at around 5.75p, down 26% on the week.