The week’s either side of a Bank Holiday, tend to be dull on the London stock market. Indeed, when you add in school holiday’s, half term, Christmas and Easter, plus Fridays, and it is difficult to work out when the market is actively busy.
Therefore, it is all the more telling when you have a flurry in small cap stocks, at a time which would not normally expect it. In this case, just after the last Bank Holiday before Christmas on Monday. Indeed, the list of risers were peppered with stocks up 20% or more, and topped by one up nearly 100%.
On Wednesday and Friday the standout winner was Hemogenyx (HEMO), the biopharmaceutical company focused on treatments for blood diseases. It has been especially favoured this week, on the basis that the FDA (which is even more important than the Man From Del Monte) has given the company special permission to conduct a acute myeloid leukaemia treatment trial, something which rarely happens. This alone would and has allowed the shares to soar. Even more interesting for fans of technical analysis, on both Wednesday and Friday shares of HEMO appear to soar in the immediate aftermath of the mid morning publication of the Bulletin Board Heroes charting video. I thought the charting was excellent. But then again I would say that wouldn’t I. In fact, the first calls on HEMO of late were as a potential turnaround situation at the end of last month in the 145p zone.
DS Norman Pilcher
I have been into the stock market since 1973, when on the car radio going to school, I listened to the new LBC Radio. A highlight at that time listening to stock market pundit Bob Beckman, a brilliant US stock market commentator. For a 7 year old as I then was, he made the market sound exciting and glamorous. This was at a time when we were in the wake of the Oil Crisis and stock market collapse, it really needed it. This was the original inspiration for me writing about the stock market and wanting to be a part of it, which arguably I have achieved 50 years later. However, while I am sure there were not a few rogues / bad actors on the market 50 years ago, it is apparent that there are still such people with influence now. They exist as influencers, gatekeepers on funding and success.
Of course, we have regulation and regulators now to keep things in order. However, it does seem that in the worst of cases, the regulators are either turning a blind eye to those who abuse the market and those in it. Or they are actually quite happy that we have school yard bullies and / or self-appointed vigilantes that do or say anything to line their own pockets, at the expense not only of listed companies but also their investors.
All of this reminds me of the story of DS Normal Pilcher, who in the 1960s acted for the Drug Squad. His MO was to arrest rock stars (The Beatles) and celebrities for drugs, whether they possessed them or not. Planting them, the drugs, in order to get a result, both for the force and his own career. In the end he was jailed for perjury. But for an extended period he was able to walk on water, both professionally and in terms of his own notoriety. Sometimes those in a position of authority, or those professing to be so, can let us down the most.
Stocks Rising On News
While Hemogenyx (HEMO) led the way twice this week, on quite special news, there were plenty of other stocks that caught the eye this week. Happily, most were caught in the Bulletin Board Heroes, like HEMO, before they went up. For instance, as far as Cloudbreak (CDL) was concerned, we had the first target of 0.29p, send at 0.56p and third hit at 0.70p. I do not think anyone else comes close to mapping out price action like that, or if they did I would use them myself. The trigger for the CDL rise was a 5x expansion at Darlot West Gold project. Wishbone (WSBN) “the new Greatland Gold” was also in expansion mode, with news its Red Setter Gold Dome drilling program is to be expanded with a £1.5 million raise. The shares rose 46% this week. Rather than needing to raise money, it was a debt forgiveness story that boosted Conroy (CGNR), which now could be a serious player, after spending years in the waiting room of success. Shares of CGNR were up 34% on the week.
There was a “bonanza” for Oriole (ORR) as it reported further significant results from the maiden (‘Phase 1’) drilling programme at its 90% owned Mbe orogenic gold project in Cameroon. ECR Minerals (ECR), finally saw a decent 31% rise on the week as it updated on activities at the Blue Mountain gold project in Queensland, Australia and the Company’s upcoming drilling programme at the Lolworth gold and rare earths project in North Queensland, Australia. It is clear that the company is very keen to get its share price up. On wonders why.
Switching sectors and Aptamer (APTA) announced the launch of a new biomarker discovery service. One presumes that the shares would have been up more than 90% on the week if more people actually knew what a biomarker is and how to discover one. Shares of Fiinu (BANK) rose a further 49% on the week, as its shareholders voted to accept the reverse takeover of Everfex PSA. It is relatively unusual for the share price of such a company to head straight up in the immediate aftermath of such a deal.
Stocks Rising On No New News
Although Chill Brands (CHLL) most famous for vapes, and its return to market was not new news this week, this along with director share buying did finally deliver a 31% share price rise on the week. One suspects that the company will be keen to exploit being given another throw of the dice this time, and not let this opportunity go. Last week saw Alien Metals (UFO) soar in the wake of great silver results at Elizabeth Hill, with further strength to the tune of 92% over the past 5 sessions. But what was most interesting this week was the impression that explorers / developers across the board in the small cap area are being seriously re-rated. They ranged from Cora (CORA), Mila (MILA), Rockfire (ROCK), GCM Resources (GCM), and Rome Resources (RMR). If this turns out to be the case, this could be a massive inflection for the London stock market.
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.
