In the end it was probably the sentiment of many investors that they were happy to see the back of February 2021, given the bond market tantrum of the past week. Indeed, the FTSE 100 ended the week below 6,500 and down not far off 200 points. All of this probably meant that while the David Beckham backed cannabis products developer Cellular Products (CBX) peaked at 28p versus the 5p list price, one might have imagined that if floated the week before it may have traded even higher. The first day close of 19p was nevertheless impressive, with traders counting on positive press coverage in the weekend papers to deliver a spike higher for Monday. In the meantime some traders were expressing relief that the £5m paper profit Mr Beckham has made on his £250,000 investment in CBX should be enough to secure the near term future of his wife’s eponymous fashion chain.
International natural resources and power project developer, Oracle Power (ORCP) said that following the submission of the policy proposal for coal-to-gas and coal-to-liquid development in Pakistan to the Ministry of Energy on 2 February 2021, the Ministry has elected to move forward with a consultative session in early March to mobilise the policy proposal process. The stakeholder consultative session, hosted by the Ministry and organised by Oracle, will be presided over, amongst others, by the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Petroleum. Shares of Oracle edged up 2%.
There were a couple of chunky placings in the mix to end the week. The first one came from Asiamet Resources (ARS) announced on Thursday, with the overwhelmingly strong institutional response on a £10m raise. Potash play Emmerson (EML) said that it has successfully raised gross proceeds of £5.5 million at an issue price of 5.75 pence, enabling us it to continue to make strong progress as it moves closer to the commencement of construction of the Khemisset Project. Emmerson shares were up 2% ahead of the news.
Shares of digital passport contender, Catenae Innovation (CTEA) enjoyed a late rally to the tune of 13%. This was off the back of traders getting excited regarding a forthcoming interview on Radio London with CEO Guy Meyer at 6:30pm that evening. Meyer discussed how Catenae can support a potential vaccination passport scheme, given that the tech company has recently been invited to participate in the Department of Media, Culture and Sport consultation on the Digital Identity Trust Framework.
Against a weak stock market backdrop, there were relatively few stocks that managed to push against the tide of selling. However, the market for tech investor All Active Asset Capital (AAA)* was backed by its new found billionaire backer David Rosen, who via his Ramsey Consultants Limited investment vehicle raised its stake in AAA to 3.94% from 2.56%. This comes just days after David Rosen entered a subscription option agreement is for up to 100 million new ordinary shares in AAA at 50p per new AAA. All Active shares rose 9% to 34.4p.
In fact, it was a busy day for Mr Rosen, given the way he was also “active” via his Sitius Ltd vehicle in Edtech play Dev Clever (DEV). Here, Sitius raised its stake in Dev to 8.31% from 3.91%, quite a chunky hike. The leading developer of online and immersive career guidance and development platforms and consumer engagement experiences, also said that Intrinsic Capital Jersey Limited has conditionally subscribed for the remaining 30 million new ordinary shares at 10p per ordinary share as detailed under the agreement signed with the Company on 13 May 2020. Shares of Dev Clever rose 9% to 29.5p.
Sticking with the tech area and Pires Investments (PIRI), the investment company focused on next-generation technology, said that it has invested a further £35,000 next-generation sports betting platform Low6’s pre-IPO funding round. Fellow Low6 investor Gunsynd (GUN) said it had participated in this financing round investing A$117,000 (approximately £65,000) via a convertible loan note. Pires shares rose 8% on the news.
Given the way that both tin and copper are rocketing at the moment, it was probably logical that shares of Strategic Minerals (SML) were up 10%. This came in the wake of the profitable producing mineral company announcing earlier this week that its 100%-owned subsidiary Cornwall Resources Limited is commencing a trenching and auger exploration program to investigate the possible presence of extensions of mineralisation up to 1,000 m to the west of the presently established Redmoor resource.
Share of Oilex (OEX) bounced back 14%, as investors compared the relatively spritely Australian listing stock price with its counterpart over in London. In the meantime investors are waiting on follow up from the recent announcement that Oilex and GSPC are in advanced discussions where it is proposed for Oilex to acquire GSPC’s 55% participating interest in Cambay.
Disclaimer:
Zakmir.com is a purely journalistic website – Zak Mir is a member of the National Union of Journalists. There is no intention here of providing financial advice. It is recommended you seek an independent professional opinion before deciding whether or not to take any action with regard to anything written here.
*The author owns shares in All Active Asset Capital.
