Let’s dive into the Share Talk Weekly Small-Cap Report for July 25th 2021.
Quantum Exponential Limited, a company formed to identify investment opportunities in the quantum technology sector, has announced its intention to apply for admission to trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange. Admission is expected during August 2021.
Quantum Exponential will be the first investment company focused solely on quantum technology – investing in quantum communications, quantum sensing, quantum metrology and quantum computing software and components. Quantum Exponential’s strategy is to assemble a portfolio of minority investments in leading global quantum technology companies, primarily in NATO-allied countries.
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Ltd (AIM:SAE) rose this week after the circumstances surrounding its major shareholder, GFK Alliance, changed for the better.
The sustainable energy generation company announced in May that administrators were appointed to all shares of SIMEC UK Energy Holdings, its 43% shareholder (SUEH).
It’s been a great week for Insig AI PLC, (AIM:INSG), an artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning company that focuses on asset management. Insig AI PLC secured an AIM listing in May through a reverse takeover from Catena Group.
It announced Tuesday that a London-based alternative investor manager had signed an annual license for Insig AI’s proprietary Data Tool.
It announced Friday that it had teamed up with CarVal Investors. CarVal is a global alternative investment manager. Insig AI will combine its environment, governance, and governance (ESG), tools with CarVal’s ESG risk scoring method.
Insig AI believes this new technology to be the best in fixed income. It “enables asset managers to create and execute a high performing, data-led ESG investing strategies by providing transparent, evidence-based ESG scoring, interrogation, and comparisons to relevant benchmarks.”
Insig AI traded at around 89p when it first appeared on AIM. However, the stock is still trading at around 80p despite an 18% increase in the week.
Sanderson Design Group’s AGM Trading Update lifted shares. The luxury interior design and furnishings company said profits for the six months through July were higher than expected.
Christopher Rogers, a non-executive director, bought 35,000 shares at $17.4 per share the next day. This brought his total to 110,000 or 0.15% of the company’s issued share capital.
Sanderson shares trade at 190.5p now, an increase of 16% over the week. Rogers is also quids in.
Hargreaves Services Plc (AIM:HGRVF), which saw its shares rise 15% to 489.5p, was another company that raised guidance.
The company’s performance has been great due to a strong commodity market. Hargreaves Raw Materials Services, its German joint venture (JV), posted a profit after taxes of PS13.6mln in the year to May. This was higher than expected.
A number of forward trading positions have been secured by the German JV. This should allow it to benefit from the strength of the commodity market this year. The board of Hargreaves now anticipates that the group’s results for 2018 will surpass market expectations.
LoopUp, an out-of-office meeting provider, has not convinced the market to make the strategic switch despite boasting about its growing portfolio of cloud telephony businesses.
In the first half 2021, fifteen cloud customers were added by the company. All new contracts are valued at PS117mln.
In the three months that followed the UK lockdown, the shares rose by threefold. This was because investors were too excited about any company that seemed like it could be Britain’s answer for Zoom. Since then, those who invested in the shares have been given a reality check.
Following the half-year results, shares trade at 42p. This is a 37% drop in trading.
Assetco PLC is the asset management fund headed by Martin Gilbert (Adria Asset Management:LSE:ADN). This week, Assetco PLC reached an agreement on the acquisition of 63% equity in Rize ETF. The cash payment will be made in cash.
Rize ETF is believed to be Europe’s first specialist thematic exchange-traded-fund (ETF) issuer and one of the fastest-growing providers of ETFs in the rapidly growing thematic ETF segment of the asset management industry, Assetco said.
Assetco shares fell 26% to 1,525p this week, despite the fact that they were issued by the company.
Plexus Holdings PLC (AIM:POS) has received the London Stock Exchange’s Green Economy Mark in a nod to the Aberdeen based engineer’s contribution to the global green economy – the Green Economy Mark is given to companies and funds that derive more than 50% of revenues from environmental solutions.
Over the last 30 years, Plexus has been protecting the environment, initially with its ‘through the BOP’ (Blow-out Preventer) wellhead designs, and subsequently with its POS-GRIP® proprietary metal-to-metal leak-proof wellhead sealing system. POS-GRIP prevents leaks, and ensures that oil and gas exploration and production is conducted in line with the highest possible standards to safeguard the environment from harmful emissions
