Self-Proclaimed Vigilantes Continued
A few weeks ago there was a heartening article in The Times regarding the London Stock Exchange wanting to make the stock market more attractive to companies looking to list. The glimmer of hope was that it would take action against the bad actors who troll companies with their defamation, character assassination, and letters to the regulators / those who are there to ensure that everything is compliant. Alas it would appear that those who are the self-appointed guardians of listed companies have decided to up the ante in terms of their harassment. Of course, sometimes they are right, and sometimes there is a role for whistleblowers and even self-proclaimed vigilantes. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether the price and news sensitive stock market is the right place for such individuals.
The over-riding reason when they are wrong it can be very damaging to small companies. Indeed, even the negative publicity can lead to accusations made becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom, with companies being unable to raise funding, or do business. Unfortunately, it is very often the shareholders of such companies themselves who are the main victims of those who act as judge and jury, on misinformation or even total falsehood. What the answer is remains beyond the paygrade of this weekly column. But the problem remains and is getting worse.
In fact, one should perhaps not only point the finger at those who bully small cap companies is that perhaps the players in the space do not always help themselves. This is over and above the way that the rules and regulations, plus the business environment itself remains extremely challenging. An AIM company really needs to be making at least £1m a year to wash its face comfortably, no easy feat. In addition, even a skilled barrister would have difficulty not succumbing to some issue regarding compliance, market communication, or procedure, being listed is that complex.
It is also very often the case that those in management in the small cap area are those who were unable to get a job in the blue chips, or create the shareholder value necessary. Therefore, it is understandable that some companies can become clay pigeons for those who wish to exploit their shortcomings for their own advantage. And this really is the case. Few write about the stock market for the sheer pleasure of doing so.
Christmas Rally
This year, just for a change, we are probably less anxious regarding the prospects of a Christmas rally on the stock market. It helps that Santa has delivered a much needed interest rate cut, perhaps as much out of economic panic than inflation cheer. The FTSE 100 is up a whopping 22% so far this year, something which some might argue is rather out of sync with reality. Thank god this is the case. The Achilles Heel of the London market however remains the small cap area, something which is perhaps not surprising given my opening paragraphs above. That said, the FTSE Small Cap Index is up 9.9%, which seems to be something of a miracle. The laggard though remains AIM, up only 6.5%. Even worse, the general consensus appears to be that if you are thinking of listing you would look at doing so either on Aquis (much cheaper), or go straight to the main board, albeit with a £30m plus market cap.
As I have said the FTSE 100 has been in fine form, looking much cheaper than many other markets (the least ugly perhaps), and we are knocking on the 10,000 level. This could be reached in coming days, even by the end of the year. If there were medals for a market climbing a wall of worry, then the UK blue chip index would certainly be due for one.
The Week’s Highlights
Quantum Helium Limited (QHE) cheered the market at the end of the week as it announced the receipt of the independent resource report from Sproule ERCE for the Coyote Wash Project in Colorado, where Quantum holds a 100% working interest. The report estimated 2U (Best Estimate) gross recoverable helium of 0.97 BCF at Coyote Wash. The shares were up a third over the 5 days.
With SpaceX currently on a $1.6tln market cap on IG, it looks like it is a very good time to be involved in all things beyond the outer limits of the stratosphere. This has helped shares of Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc (SSIT), the world’s first listed SpaceTech investment company see its share up over 100% since the start of the year. There is likely to be more on the upside as it announced that its portfolio company and largest holding, ICEYE, has secured a major contract valued at €1.7 billion.
Arc Minerals (ARCM), an exploration company focused on developing Tier 1 copper deposits, took something of a punch to the gut in October when the much speculated upon Anglo American JV bit the dust. However, this week the tide turned in the wake of the appointment of Rémy Welschinger as the Company’s new CEO with effect from 2 January 2026. The shares were up 66% this week, with supporters of the company not only delighted by this news, but also prospects for the company’s assets in Zambia’s Copperbelt, at a time when the green metal is strengthening in value.
It has been a long post pandemic winter for shares of Hvivo (HVO), the full-service early phase Contract Research Organisation (CRO). This week it announced that on 15 December 2025, Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan, Chief Executive Officer and Stephen Pinkerton, Chief Financial Officer, had both purchased shares in the company. The market liked this show of support enough to bid up the stock just under 40%. On a charting basis the set up suggests that the shares could stretch towards 10p by the end of next month, versus 7.35p now.
A major contract win helps Tekmar (TGP) to rise 40% as well. The technology and services provider for the offshore energy industry said it had achieved a deal worth over €8 million. This compares to the present market cap of £15m.
Although one would imagine that the number of people who actually understood what the RNS was on about was in the low single figures, there was a 53% weekly share price rise for Vault Ventures (AQSE:VULT). The London-based technology developer focused on blockchain and AI innovation, announced the forthcoming Beta release of vSignal.ai, scheduled to go live on 22 December 2025, together with the introduction of new analytical features. VULT said “The Beta release represents a key milestone in the Company’s product development roadmap and marks the transition of vSignal.ai into its first externally accessible testing phase.” Of course it does.
Finally, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. I hope you enjoyed Zakstraderscafe in 2025. I will be writing up a review of the small caps stocks of 2025, and serve up a top 20 for 2026. This is even though the latter exercise by definition is not an easy one.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:
The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
