Traders Cafe with Zak Mir: All Active Asset Capital,Argo Blockchain, Audioboom, Cizzle, Open Orphan, Valereum, Zenova

One of the true drivers of a bull market is frequent M&A activity, if only as a driver and source of liquidity. This point is underlined in the wake of the response to the offer for podcast platform Audioboom (BOOM), although perhaps the bulls will have been hoping for something rather more accommodative given that the offer was 36% from All Active Asset Capital (AAA) above the prevailing share price. Indeed, BOOM said that for the six months ended 30 June 2021 it had achieved record $22.8 million of revenue generated by Audioboom in that period, up 93% on the comparable period in 2020 (US$11.8 million), questioned the rationale of the proposed deal and quibbled over the fact that AAA shares are currently suspended. It would appear that the ball is back in the bidder’s court.

Another day, another piece of significant newsflow from Argo Blockchain (ARB). Here the cryptominer said that it has broken ground on its 200-megawatt cryptocurrency mining facility, Helios, in Dickens County, Texas, which will be powered predominantly by renewable energy. The new facility will transform Argo's mining capacity and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2022. Part of the decline for Bitcoin in recent months has been pointed at concerns over the environmental impact of the amount and type of energy used in the mining process, where even Elon Musk was seen to beat a retreat on his enthusiasm for the digital asset on this basis.

Sticking with a related space, and blockchain technology builder Valereum Blockchain (VLRM) said it had beefed up its board in the form of Patrick Lyle Young who has joined the Company. Valereum said Young has extensive experience in building regulated solutions around the world along with extensive knowledge of blockchain technology. With his skillset the new appointee will be assisting the company with building the Valereum Bridge which is a Non-Fungible-Token (NFT) securities financial platform linking fiat assets with digital ones.

For any pharma company worth its salt, the ultimate fundamental validation comes from the high profile medical journals discussing activities they are involved in. This is what Open Orphan (ORPH) has just been treated to in the form of an editorial opinion piece regarding the UK Government's Human Challenge Programme has been published in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The piece, titled 'Establishing the Model during an Evolving Pandemic', explores the extensive preliminary review process which was commissioned by the UK Government and delivered by the coalition involved in the COVID-19 Human Challenge Programme. Open Orphan said that it believes the UK Government's COVID-19 Human Challenge Programme will play a vital role in trialling the vaccines and antivirals which continue support the effective pandemic response in the UK and abroad.

Blood test developer Cizzle Biotechnology (CIZ) announced the signing of a collaboration with FairJourney Biologics for the development and supply of proprietary key monoclonal antibodies that are the foundation for developing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay , together with appropriate core reagents which are important requirements in the Cizzle’s roadmap for the commercial development of its prototype CIZ1B biomarker test. The company aims to develop Cizzle Biotechnology's prototype CIZ1B biomarker test into a commercial, CE marked and/or FDA 510(k) cleared diagnostic immunoassay that can be readily performed as a sufficiently reliable test in a hospital setting.

It may be said that sometimes on the stock market it is the luck of the draw as to when you arrive. Clearly, as the week has progressed shares in general have rebounded. This may be to the advantage of fire safety group Zenova (ZED). It is hitting the AIM market today having raised £4.5 million at a placing price of 19p per share, giving it a market cap of £17.4m. The proceeds of the placing will be used to support the company’s growth strategy and build sales in the UK and other regions globally.