MOVERS OF MONDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2020
(LON:CINE ) continues to rally at 14.05% on the back of further vaccine potential
Shares in the world’s biggest cinema chain, Cineworld Group, continues to gain ground this morning following last week’s news that the coronavirus vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been found to be 90% effective in preventing people from getting the virus.
This morning, shares in the group rallied further after early data from US company Moderna was released demonstrating that a new anti-COVID-19 vaccine is nearly 95% effective.
‘The results come hot on the heels of similar results from Pfizer, and add to growing confidence that vaccines can help end the pandemic,’ the BBC reported this afternoon.
Cineworld is one of many travel and leisure stocks, which have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, that are amongst the best performing sectors on the stock market since last week.
Similarly, the AIM-listed cinema group, Everyman Media Group, also saw some light relief last week - up over 40 % - despite the closure of all of its venues under the new guidelines.
“The Pfizer announcement is not yet a panacea, but adds to investor sentiment which had already been buoyed by the Biden victory, and has sent markets to strongly positive levels,” commented Richard Hunter, Head of Markets at Interactive Investor, City A.M. reported.
Despite still only being worth a fifth of their value at the start of the year and having most of its branches closed, shares in Cineworld have almost doubled since the beginning of the week. Shares in Cineworld have more than doubled in the past ten days from 28.18p to 45p.
Global share prices have surged on the back of the news of a second potential breakthrough coronavirus vaccine, following in the footsteps of last week's positive results from Pfizer.
(AIM:BLOE ) shares soared 45.90% to 4.45p as West Rustavi prepares to receive first sales of gas
The Georgian-focused exploration company highlighted ‘continued progress’ at its Early Production Facility ("EPF") on the West Rustavi oil & gas field despite operational challenges.
It said the construction of its gathering line between the EPF and the WR-38Z well has been completed ‘on time and on budget’ despite operational challenges as a result of COVID-19.
It said the pipeline has been successfully pressure tested at 6,600 kPa with no failures while the EPF is ready to receive gas from wells WR-16aZ and WR-38Z, which will remain shut-in to conserve gas until the gas sales line has been constructed and gas sales can commence.
The Georgian independent gas company, Bago LLC, which has agreed to purchase the gas from the EPF, has now received all required permits and is continuing with the construction of its gas sales line, in order to recover time lost consequent to the coronavirus pandemic.
This means that once the sales line is complete, oil production from the West Rustavi oil and gas field will recommence and first sales of associated gas will be achieved, it told investors.
“Safely completing the assembly of the EPF and construction of the gathering line on time and budget is a testament to the relentless efforts applied by the team to deliver this important milestone,” said Block Energy’s Chief Executive, Paul Haywood on today’s report.
Haywood added that the group’s focus now remains on supporting Bago to ensure the safe and efficient installation of the sales pipeline, which will allow gas sales to commence.
(AIM:PXS ) shares rose 40% to 0.975p following distribution agreement
The business that develops, licences and sells Fruitflow®, a ‘heart-health’ food ingredient, entered a distribution agreement with a group which will act as the distributor for Fruitflow+ Omega-3 in China through the Chinese Cross-Border e-commerce ('CBEC') channel.
The agreement grants the distributor exclusive rights to import, market and sell the Fruitflow+ Omega-3 dietary supplement product in China through the CBEC channel.
The Distributor will purchase Fruitflow+ Omega-3 from Provexis, and the Distributor will use its existing network of e-commerce and other sales channels to market and sell the product.
Provexis said it believes Fruitflow “has the potential to play an important role in the Chinese cardiovascular health market”. With more than 290 million people in China now thought to have cardiovascular disease, the group said an upward trend is only projected to continue.
“The Company's Fruitflow+ Omega-3 product has a number of proven attributes which are expected to be particularly relevant for Chinese consumers, and these attributes will be promoted strongly by the Company's new distributor,” said Ian Ford, CEO of Provexis.
(AIM:NCCL ) shares increased 27.63% to 4.9p after recigin $1.8m budget for coal-fired power project in Mozambique
The African power development firm has signed a Supplementary Agreement to its previous joint development agreement with China Machinery Engineering Corporation ("CMEC").
Pursuant to the agreement, CMEC will fund specified accelerated development works at the Ncondezi 300MW coal-fired power project and coal mine in Tete, Mozambique.
The supplementary agreement sets out the agreed basis for accelerated development work to be carried out on the Project, granting a provisional budget of US$1.8m to be funded by CMEC and accelerating the development work which will focus on a number of milestones.
This will include ensuring key agreements such as the Engineering Procurement and Construction agreements are compliant with Mozambican laws and additional survey drilling required by CMEC to complete Chinese Government approvals for their investment.
“The approved $1.8m development budget will be funded by CMEC. This provides the strongest signal to date of CMEC's commitment to the project, targeting its 60% equity stake, and we look forward to them leading the debt financing negotiations with Chinese financiers.
Consultants have been instructed and work has commenced. We look forward to providing further updates in due course,” said Ncondezi Chief Executive Officer, Hanno Pengilly.
fell 3.98% to 91.85p as food stocks take further hit
The food manufacturer reported a profit increase last week of nearly 30% in the six months to 26 September 2020 as more people took to eating at home during the national lockdown.
The Hertfordshire-based producer said revenue for 1H20/21 was increased by 15% to £421.5m from £366.7m in 1H19/20 while pre tax profit soared to £50.5m (1H19/20: £15m). After "exceptional" demand throughout lockdown, the group gained over 1m customers.
Despite Premier’s recent positive trading update, food delivery stocks have been amongst those that have taken a hit on the back of last week's news of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Today, shares in Premier slipped further after Moderna revealed that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate demonstrated an efficacy rate of 94.5% in a trial of more than 30,000 patients.
Moderna’s vaccine has both demonstrated a higher efficacy rate and that it can be stored at refrigerator temperatures for up to 30 days, compared to Pfizer's vaccine candidate which needs to be stored at frigid temperatures of negative-70 degrees Celsius for up to 15 days.
Chief executive Alex Whitehouse said: "The longevity of this increased demand is likely to be linked to the duration of these new measures. “The company said it expected to continue to see its income grow and forecast that its full-year profits would beat analysts' predictions.
‘One of the few luxuries available throughout various lockdowns has been takeaway food delivery, through apps such as Just Eat,’ the Guardian wrote, with shares having fallen by 9%. ‘If vaccines allow lockdown to ease, that spending could move back to restaurants’,’ it said.
Similarly, grocery delivery retailer, Ocado, which was described as ‘one of the biggest beneficiaries of the rapid rise in online shopping during the pandemic’ has lost 12% in value.
‘Although it fell back on Monday, many analysts think the pandemic has permanently expanded its market,’ the Guardian wrote on Ocado last week. Shares in the company have remained gradually decreased over the past week, trading 4.31% lower at 2,184p today.
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