UK small and mid caps suffered on Wednesday as the market digested the latest round of inflation figures pointing to rising prices and increased pressures on households.
Oxford Instruments
Oxford Instruments shares enjoyed a 7.3% rise to 22,275p after the company announced revenue and operating profit projections marginally ahead of management expectations, alongside a positive outlook for 2022.
The firm attributed its positive results to good progress in the second half of the financial year, reportedly driven by strong order growth supported by resilient end markets.
Derwent London shares increased 2.2% to 31,890p after JP Morgan raised the stock to overweight from neutral, with a price target of 4,200p compared to its previous price of 3,600p.
PZ Cussons shares rose 2.3% to 205.2p following the group’s report of continued improvement in revenue, with an 8.5% like-for-like revenue growth in the third quarter.
“We are focusing on building our Must Win Brands, driving executional excellence, dramatically reducing complexity and transforming our functional capabilities,” said PZ Cussons CEO Jonathan Myers.
Dr Martens shares dropped 7.6% to 221.4p after Barclays cut the company’s price target to 360p from 480p.
Hammerson suffered a loss of 4% to 30.8p following JP Morgan’s recommendation to lower the shares to underweight from neutral, with a price target of 29p down from 40p.
Liontrust Asset Management shares fell 3.5% to 12,400p following the company’s release of its annual financial results, which reported a slowdown in growth due to supply chain issues, macro-economic factors and high dealer sales.
ImmuPharma shares spiked 40.1% to 7.9p following positive data from the group’s Lupuzor/P140 pharmacokinetic study as part of its optimised international Phase three trial of Lupzor in lupus patients, which revealed that the study successfully met key endpoints required by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“This positive PK data now clears the path for commencement of all clinical studies within the P140 platform,” said a spokesperson for the company.
“In addition to lupus, there is a planned Phase 2a/3 pivotal trial in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.”
Shearwater Group shares were up 26.9% to 139p after the company won a new contract with a potential value of up to £21 million with an unidentified leading telecommunications and media firm.
Empire Metals shares increased 21.3% to 1.8p following the group’s completed acquisition of the Pitfield Copper-Gold Project.
Amur Minerals Corp shares dropped 12.6% to 1.5p after the company was slightly impacted by the latest wave of anti-Russian sanctions, which saw its lead legal representation in Moscow suspend their operations in Russia.
Amur Minerals confirmed that the sanctions have not affected its AO Kun-Manie mine in the far east of Russia, and that it is currently seeking alternative legal representation in the country.
