RNS Hotlist November 12: Ananda, Aquis, BAE Systems, Cake Box, Concurrent, Crystal Amber, Georgina, Goldplat, MetalNRG, Ondo

• The Telegraph reports that a “Mad” City figure has had a £16m payday from the sale of the Aquis Exchange announced yesterday. One looks forward to the new owners boosting liquidity on Aquis, as well as enhancing its reputation as a place to be listed and invest for private investors and institutions alike. Yesterday saw a total of 6 risers on Aquis and 9 fallers, including the 100% gain for shares of AQX. The rest of the challenger market remained unchanged.

• With shares of Georgina Energy (GEX) off the lows, the desperate attacks on the company by swivel-eyed shorters in their typical “distort, omit, exaggerate, personal abuse” strategy continue. This time there is the false accusation that the founder of Georgina failed to declare having gone bankrupt. In fact, this was declared to all and sundry in the prospectus. This was either sloppy research on the part of the shorting conspiracy (always a possibility if one is swivel-eyed), or part of the stop at nothing campaign to attempt to get the stock price down. It is to be regretted that so many in the small cap market tolerate or are resigned to the effects such interventions have.

• Bitcoin has soared towards $90,000 after the Trump victory, helped by the President elect’s ongoing positive stance towards digital assets, indeed, anything that regulators and socialists dislike. That said, many of London’s crypto related stocks such as KR1 (KR1) and Coinsilium (COIN) are yet to get anywhere near their all time highs, and could yet deliver decent upside for those scrambling to get exposure to this area of the market.

MetalNRG (MNRG), the natural resources company, announce that concerning the agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Compagnie Minière de l’Oumejrane S.A. from Managem S.A., it has now lodged a draft prospectus with the FCA in connection with the admission of the Company’s shares to the Official List of the London Stock Exchange plc. MNRG said it was delighted to have progressed documentation to a stage where a prospectus on the enlarged group has been lodged with the FCA. It was asking shareholders to approve the necessary resolutions to implement the Acquisition in parallel with the FCA review process so that it can expedite completion.

Comment: MNRG  has served up one of the better small cap deals of the year, and perhaps in typical London stock market fashion, the merits of the deal have not been fully understood or factored into the valuation. Today’s news should help the process.

Ananda Developments  (AQSE: ANA) announced that Melissa Sturgess, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has purchased a total of 2,015,166 ordinary shares of 0.2 pence each in the Company via four transactions at a weighted average price of 0.32 pence per Ordinary Share. The Ordinary Shares were purchased on market. Following this transaction, Melissa Sturgess is beneficially interested in 422,382,284 Ordinary Shares, representing 9.92% of the total issued share capital of the Company.

Comment: In the current stock market environment, CEOs leading from the front in terms of buying shares is a always a highlight. In the case of ANA this is particularly appropriate given the way that the market has not yet fully priced in the significant progress the company has made, particularly with regard to the NHS trials.

Crystal Amber Fund (CRS) announced its Final results for the year ended 30 June 2024. NAV per share increased by 86.3% over the 12 months to 30 June 2024 from 93.3p to 173.9p a share. NAV rose from £77.7 million to £126.7 million. 12.5% of the Company’s issued share capital bought in for cancellation at an average of 80.19p a share, a discount to year end NAV of 53.9%. Fund performance: according to Trustnet over the last year the Fund is second out of 22 peer group funds and over three years, first, with shareholder returns of 68.4% against a decline of 9.2% in the Investment Trust Smaller Companies Index.

Comment: Anyone looking where to invest currently does not need to look any further than CRS. It is a shame the market savvy did not include its EPIC code in the RNS, but with such a massive NAV jump perhaps the company assumes that interested parties would know how to find it.

Concurrent Technologies (CNC), a designer and manufacturer of leading-edge computer products, systems, and mission-critical solutions used in high-performance markets by some of the world’s major OEMs, announces that its Systems business unit in Los Angeles has secured a $3.72m contract, with a leading defence platforms provider in Asia. CNC said this is one of the most significant orders ever received by Concurrent, secured after competing against some large well-established corporations. It is a clear testament to its ability to win complex systems development and delivery contracts.

Comment: Shares of CNC have already been a firm market ahead of today’s update, as if one or two people successfully guessed that the company would have a big contract win. The lay of the land as far as the price action suggests a target towards 150p by the turn of the year.

Vodafone (VOD) announced its H1 FY25 results, VOD said it continues to make good progress on its strategy to change Vodafone. The approval processes for its transactions in the UK and Italy are nearing conclusion. Its results in the first half have been consistent with our expectations and we are reiterating our full year guidance. It grew service revenue by 4.8% and Adjusted EBITDA by 3.8%. It delivered good performances across its markets, with the exception of Germany, where it has been impacted as expected by the TV law change.

Comment:  VOD shares continue to be one of the more pedestrian in terms of price action, and as today’s RNS shows, also in terms of newsflow / performance. That said, near the 200 day moving average at 71p could provide an entry point for any remaining fans of the stock.

BAE Systems (BA.) issued a Market Update. The company said that the operational and financial performance underpin Group full-year guidance, in line with upgrade at the half year. The solid order intake sustained, with around £25bn booked year-to-date. BAE said its operational and financial performance so far in 2024 reaffirms its confidence in achieving the upgraded full year guidance it issued at the half year. Focusing on operational excellence, contracting discipline and growing its workforce is enabling it to consistently deliver critical capabilities and technologies for our customers worldwide.

Comment: Although shares of BAE are once again near the highs of May, it does appear that there is enough momentum to take them to new highs. Any rug pull in the wake of today’s RNS for the stock could represent a dip to buy into.

Goldplat (GDP) the AIM listed Mining Services Group, announced an operational update for the 1st quarter ended 30 September 2024. The two recovery operations achieved a combined operating profit for the quarter of £1,838,000 (excluding listing and head office costs, finance cost and foreign exchange losses) (FY Q1 2024 – £1,865,000). GDP said it was pleased with what its teams in the two business units have achieved during Q1. In Ghana, the team managed to implement several new processes and procedures in a short period to focus the business on local beneficiation and in South Africa, on streamlining the operations due to lower visibility of supply of material. This was all done whilst maintaining operational profitability. There is still significant work to be done, but all its efforts will create a more robust business providing a niche solution to the industry it operates in.

Comment: GDP’s apparent silence is golden approach to the market has means that the stock has tracked sideways, when it could and perhaps should be on the front foot in current stock market conditions.

Ondo Insurtech (ONDO), a company in claims prevention technology for home insurers, confirmed that Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (“Nationwide”) will announce a major expansion of their partnership with Ondo, to roll-out LeakBot into 16 U.S. States.  ONDO said this is a major step in its U.S. expansion and a great endorsement from one of the biggest and best insurers in the United States. Nationwide have been the perfect anchor partner for us in the United States and by taking the lead in the geographic expansion of our solution, make it much easier for other U.S. carriers to also introduce our groundbreaking product to their customers across the United States.

Comment: ONDO is certainly back on track in terms of both its share price and the newsflow, with today’s particularly pleasing given the US angle.

Zak Mir

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