MOVERS OF TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER 2020
(LON:AML ) shares were up 3.55% to 54.05p
Shares in the British independent luxury sports car manufacturer put some gas in the tank this morning despite the stock having more than halved in value since the beginning of the year.
In recent weeks, Prestige Motor and Preferred Prestige Motor, shareholders in Aston Martin which once held a stake worth more than 30%, disposed of a 4.12% stake in the company.
According to reports from Insider Media, the news comes after their investment was lowered from 7.14% at the start of September. The shares were held by Investindustrial Advisors Ltd.
Yahoo Finance reported that the share price slump from March as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic has only added to the car maker’s woes. After starting 2020 at around 150p, the share price subsequently fell down to 46p by the middle of March.
‘In the short term, the stock did trade back above 100p, but unfortunately it’s back at the time of writing to 50p. This represents a fall of 66% from the start of the year,’ it reported.
As of 22 October 2020, AML’s shares were trading at 49 cents a share, down considerably from its nearly $25 IPO float price back in October 2018, CNBC wrote last week.
The carmaker is trying to salvage business as sales continue to tumble with newly appointed CEO, Tobias Moers, former head of Mercedes-AMG and its launch of the Aston Martin DBX, its first-ever luxury SUV which has been in the works since its virtual development in 2015.
“The DBX may present a great opportunity for Aston Martin. Though it is a relatively late entry to the segment, SUVs are popular at every price. Other brands have seen tremendous success with them,” wrote CNBC of the recent launch, citing Porsche’s success with SUVs.
It added, “If the DBX succeeds, it could give Aston Martin the financial cushion it needs to keep making the grand tourers and sports cars beloved by so many, but bought by few.”
(AIM:MTL ) shares continued their rise with a further 55.41% to 2.875p following its return from suspension
Shares in the natural resources and exploration group soared after shares resumed on the AIM market following the completion of its proposed restructuring announced on Friday.
Following completion of the restructuring, the Company's existing loan documentation has been replaced by a new senior debt facility, a new mezzanine facility and a revolving credit facility, on the terms set out in the Company's announcement of 11 September 2020.
This means it will no longer be subject to set fixed principal and interest repayment schedules and will no longer be in default with effect from completion of the restructuring.
Chief Executive, Darren Bowden, said the drawn-out debt restructuring process would provide Metals Exploration with “more flexible and commercially attractive debt terms.”
“The end result places the Company in a financial position where its debt burden does not jeopardise its future solvency. Both the Company and the Lenders will share the upside and downside risks of gold price and operational performance fluctuations,” said Bowden.
He added, “Having completed this process management's immediate focus will be on dealing with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and on ramping operational performance at Runruno back to pre-pandemic levels."
(AIM:RMS ) shares jumped 21.21% to 2p following update over its mask production
On Friday, shares in the Company rose 37.96% during early morning trading after noting an announcement published by Braveheart Investment Group in respect of Pharm 2 Farm.
Braveheart Investment Group said on Friday that its investee company, Pharm2Farm ("P2F"), will launch the sale of a new antiviral face mask that can kill COVID-19 by the end of 2020.
The investment company conditionally agreed to sell its 51.72% holding in P2F back in August 2020 to Remote Monitored Systems (LON:RMS) for 310.4m shares in the latter. On completion of the sale, Braveheart’s stake in RMS will be taken to around 37.12%.
The surgical mask project commenced in June and follows P2F’s development of a textile coating incorporating proprietary nanoparticles to grant long lasting virucidal properties.
The first application of this technology has been to coat a fabric layer in surgical masks and produce a certified antiviral mask for both healthcare professionals and the public.
P2F received test results from two independent laboratories confirming that the mask has a ‘kill rate’ of over 90% for up to 7 hours, meeting requirements for ISO 18184 certification which is awarded to antiviral fabrics proven to deactivate over 99% of enveloped viruses.
P2F has purchased an automated mask production line which is on track to be delivered in November 2020. Manufactured in Europe, it has the capacity to produce up to five million standard or antiviral face masks per month and will be in production by the end of the year.
However, the survey and inspection services group Remote Monitored Systems released a statement this morning saying it was not aware of any reason for the recent rise in its share price. The company’s share price surged 148% during Monday trading and a further 80% this morning.
The shares subsequently settled up 21.21% at the close.
(AIM:JWNG ) takes flight and trades 22.22% higher at 4.5p
The UK data science specialist recently appointed two senior members of staff; former strategic planning director at Brass, Phil Stott and Lead Risk Consultant, Paul Monaghan after a difficult year for the business which saw lower revenues for the 2020 financial year.
“It has been a difficult year for the industry, with uncertainty widespread, however the future looks bright for Jaywing, with many exciting developments happening and I am excited to be a part of it,” said Stott, who will head client financial and professional services.
In a trading update released in August 2020, Jaywing told investors that it expects to report net revenue for the year ended 31st March 2020 of approximately £24m (2019: £29.8m).
At 31st March 2020, net debt was £5.7m (2019: £5.0m). The Company said it has also continued its process of restructuring and realigning the business more closely to its clients and its service offerings, following the appointment of Andrew Fryatt as CEO in March 2020.
Jaywing said that while the economic impact of Covid-19 has resulted in a year-on-year revenue decline and significant market uncertainty remains, actions taken to preserve cash and profitability makes it ‘well-positioned’ to benefit as global economic activity recovers.
‘Whilst there remains considerable uncertainty in markets generally, the Company believes that it is well positioned to benefit as economic activity recovers,’ it told investors in August.
Jaywing also told investors that it has received approval from AIM under its Covid-19 temporary measures for a three-month extension to the deadline for the publication of its full results which are now expected to be published before the end of November 2020.
(LON:PLUS ) shares fell 8.95% to 1,475p as it falls from peak first quarter earnings
The technology platform for trading Contracts for Difference ("CFDs") internationally was one of the London stocks taking a hit from recently announced COVID-19 curbs in England.
According to data from Reuters, the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index lost 0.6%, with shares in Plus500 Ltd tumbling 8.2% to the bottom of the index on ‘dour outlook.’
In a trading update for the three months ending 30 September 2020, the Board of Plus500 warned investors that the recent uplift in trading over summer was starting to slow down.
As reported by the Times, Plus500, which lets people bet on movements in financial markets, enjoyed a strong year as investors ‘tried to profit from the wild swings in global stock prices.’
The company reported a slump in activity since the peak achieved in the first quarter with revenue for the latest quarter at $216.m, a 96% increase when compared with Q319. However, the figure still remained significantly lower from its numbers posted in 2020.
“Plus500 has delivered an excellent performance during Q3 2020, building on the positive momentum already achieved in the first half of the year,” said CEO, David Zruia.
Shareholders have reacted strongly today to the Company’s trading update, subsequently sending Plus500’s share price down by almost 10% during Tuesday afternoon trading.
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