Shares of Computacenter plc (LON: CCC) have seen their shares spike on Tuesday morning, after the firm said it would exceed market expectations.

Computacenter plc is a European company that provides computer services to public- and private-sector customers. It is a UK company based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

Shares of Computacentre spiked 5.54% to 1,618p. 10/12/19 10:58BST.

At the end of October, the FTSE250 listed firm saw progress in their third quarter, which led to the firm keeping maintaining their expectations.

Today, shareholders received a positive update saying that the firm expects its figures to exceed both analyst and market expectations.

Profitability and earnings per share are on track to beat full year expectations, the IT supplier said, which spiked shares.

“The strong 2019 performance is coming from Computacenter’s established businesses and, in the second half of the year, from the acquired business in the US which is now performing in line with our expectations following a difficult start to the year,” the board said.

The firm said that it has not suffered a blow from existing difficult contracts, that bruised performance in the second half of 2018.

“The group has not seen a repeat of the negative impact that occurred in the second half of 2018 due to contract provisions and these existing difficult contracts continue to perform in line with, or slightly ahead of, our expectations,” said Computacenter.

In fact, they “continue to perform in line with, or slightly ahead of our expectations”, the company said.

“Computacenter’s board acknowledge, as is the case every year, that there is still a significant amount to do in December, which is always our busiest month of the year,” it added.

“However, visibility on this critical month’s outturn is starting to improve.”

The firm is set to update its full year results on the 23rd January, and following the positivity today big results are expected to be announced.

In the IT and software industry, there have been updates. Global name Avast (LON:AVST) saw their shares in green as the firm reported strong sales despite workplace and business divisions.

The cyber security firm said revenue rose 9% year on year for the quarter ending in September. Revenues were totaled at £170 million.

Additionally, London listed Redcentric have seen their shares jump at the end of November, as the firm reported that it had swung to an interim profit, which led to the doubling of its interim dividend.

Shareholders of Ashtead Group plc (LON: AHT) have seen their shares drop on Monday morning despite a relatively positive update.

Ashtead Group plc is a British industrial equipment rental company formerly based in Leatherhead, Surrey, but which has since moved to new offices in the City of London.

Shares of Ashtead dropped 7.1% to 2,198p. 10/12/19 10:25BST.

Ashtead experienced a similar dip in their profits in September, when the firm saw their shares dip despite a relatively stable performance.

In September, the FTSE100 listed firm saw revenue bounced 17% on a year-on-year basis fro the first half, to £1.27 billion, led by a 16% jump in rental revenue.

This led a growth of 14% to an EBITDA of £626.6 million, and an on-year rise of 11% in operating profit, up to £358.3 million.

In this morning’s update, the firm posted a rise in interim profit as strong US and Canadian growth pushed revenue higher despite a weaker UK performance.

For the six months ended October 31, the equipment rental firm posted a £660.2 million pretax profit, 8.2% higher than its £610.0 million profit the year before.

This improvement came from rental revenue, which was up 18% to £2.45 billion from £2.07 billion, lifting group revenue 19% to £2.68 billion from £2.25 billion.

According to Ashtead, its half-year revenue performance reflects “strong growth in the US and Canadian markets”. However, investment in its Canadian business and “weakness in the UK” meant a more modest performance in terms of profit.

Chief Executive Brendan Horgan said: “Our North American end markets remain strong and we continue to execute well on our strategy of organic growth supplemented by targeted bolt-on acquisitions. In contrast, the UK market remains challenging and we are therefore refocusing A-Plant on leveraging its platform to deliver long-term sustainable results while generating strong cash flow.”

Shareholders should have been appeased, as Ashtead increased its interim dividend by 10% to 7.15p per share from 6.5p per share the year prior.

Horgan said: “Our business continues to perform well in supportive North American end markets, while we have taken decisive strategic action to refocus our UK business in the challenging market conditions. Thus, except for the UK and a currency headwind, we expect results to be in line with our expectations and the board continues to look to the medium term with confidence.”

Competitors have seen their shares just as volatile, in a market which has been hit by Brexit slumps.

At the end of November, CRH saw their shares rally as the firm gave shareholders a bullish third quarter update.

The firm reported reported a 9% rise in third quarter profit on a like-for-like basis, and also alluded to sustained demand and pricing which it expects to continue in 2020.

Home building firms, such as Berkeley who Ashtead may supply to have also experienced fluctuations.

On Friday, Berkeley reported that pre tax profit fell 31% to 276.7 million pounds ($355.01 million) for the six months ended Oct. 31.

Additionally, Gleeson saw their shares in red despite a confident outlook to shareholders, which further adds to the inconsistent nature of the home building market.

Certainly, shareholders should remain optimistic about the update from Ashtead. As the Election creeps up on voters, it seems that firms can then make a concrete recovery plan to battle business slumps once more clarity is given.

Phoenix Global Resources PLC (LON: PGR) have seen their shares rally on Monday morning after the firm gave shareholders a positive update.

Phoenix Global Resources plc is an upstream oil and gas company offering its investors an opportunity to invest directly into Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale formation and other unconventional resources.

Shares in Phoenix rallied 11.04% to 19p on the announcement. 9/12/19 15:20BST.

The firm said that production was increased in the third quarter of 2019, but a fall in oil prices caused revenues to decline.

Big name rivals such as FTSE100 listed Shell and SABIC reported a quarterly slump in profits due to volatile oil prices.

For the three months ended September 30, Argentina-focused oil & gas firm Phoenix Global posted total production of 10,830 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 13% from 9,621 barrels in the second quarter.

However, a 14% decline in average realised prices to $38.9 per barrel of oil equivalent from $45.1 caused revenue to drop 6.6% to $34.1 million from $36.5 million.

At the start of November, Phoenix completed the sale of its non core partner operated conventional Santa Cruz Sur assets.

Chief Operating Officer Javier Vallesi said: “Testing continues at Mata Mora, the results of which will be used to help define the future drilling and the overall development plan for the block. At Puesto Rojas, the vertical Agrio unconventional wells were drilled and completed under budget and are now on flowback. Consistent with our operational objectives, we continue to build our organisational and execution capability as we begin the appraisal and development of our unconventional concessions”.

“The sale of our Santa Cruz assets in November further focuses our resources on the company’s significant unconventional acreage consistent with our stated objective to become a leading, Argentina-focused, unconventional development and production company,” Vallesi added.

French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi SA (EPA: SAN) have announced the purchase of biotechnology firm Synthorx Inc (NASDAQ: THOR) in an update on Monday.

Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, as of 2013 the world’s fifth-largest by prescription sales. The company was formed as Sanofi-Aventis in 2004, by the merger of Aventis and Sanofi-Synthélabo, which were each the product of several previous mergers.

Shares of Sanofi currently trade at €82 (-0.74%). 9/12/19 14:40BST.

The firm said that the deal would be a cash only deal valued at $2.5 billion, as it steps up its effort to push the cancer field drugs.

At the end of October, Sanofi reported strong sales growth €9.5 billion, up 1.1%. Its notable highlights included; a 19.5% jump in sales from Sanofi Genzyme, driven by the ‘strong’ uptake of its Dupixent product; emerging markets sales growth of 9.7% and CHC sales growth of 0.4%.

Today, the pharmaceutical giant has made a statement to global competitors about its intentions to dominate the global market.

Sanofi has offered to buy all the outstanding shares of Synthorx common stock for $68 per share in cash, or a 172% premium to Synthorx’s closing price on Dec. 6, 2019.

“This acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy to build a portfolio of high-quality assets and to lead with innovation, as you will hear at our Capital Markets Day tomorrow, December 10,” Sanofi Chief Executive Paul Hudson said in a statement.

“Additionally it is aligned with our goal to build our oncology franchise with potentially practice-changing medicines and novel combinations.”

Synthorx is a linical-stage biotech company focused on therapies for people with cancer and auto-immune disorders, according to the company’s website.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020, and should please shareholders of both parties.

“The acquisition price is full at a 172% premium to Synthorx Dec. 6 close price and is a lot to pay for an early stage pipeline (lead drug THOR-707 is in phase 1 trial,” Liberum analysts said in a note.

Sanofi is going through a strategy and operational overhaul under Hudson, who took over as CEO on September 1.

“I am bringing a little sense of urgency and prioritization. I have set a tone already that we can move a little bit faster,” Hudson told reporters in October.

“I think we have the right level of resources although perhaps not always in the right place.”

The move comes as rivals have been making ground in the industry. It seems that Sanofi have made this move in order to keep up with the pack.

In the US, titan Pfizer have seen their third quarter profits beat market expectations and exceed many analyst reports in an impressive trading update.

Net income accountable to Pfizer’s shareholders rose to $7.68 billion, or $1.36 per share, in the quarter, from $4.11 billion, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.

Additionally, FTSE100 listed GlaxoSmithKline saw their shares in green after the firm lifted their annual profit forecast.

Shareholders of Savannah Resources Plc (LON: SAV) have seen their shares jump after the firm announced progress in their Mozambique operations.

Savannah Resources Plc is a multi-commodity development company focused on building cash generative and profitable mining operations. The firm has operations in Portugal, Oman and Mozambique.

Shares of Savannah Rsources jumped 2.33% to 2p on Monday afternoon. 9/12/19 14:26BST.

The firm said the minister of Mineral Resources & Energy has issued Mining Licence 9735C to its subsidiary Matilda Minerals Lda. The licence covers 11,948 hectares. It is valid to April 2044 and includes a 25-year extension option.

The company operates the Mutamba project in a joint venture with FTSE100 listed Rio Tinto (LON: RIO).

Savannah’s partner Rio Tinto, hit news headlines last week as the firm gave an update to shareholders on its Richards Bay operations being unsafe.

Additionally, in November Rio Tinto saw its shares spike following a pledge to take part and underwrite a fundraise by invest Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA).

The licence is the first of three permits to be issued which will allow the full tenement permitting of Mutamba.

Savannah currently holds a 20% interest in the Mutamba project but can increase its stake to 35% upon delivery of the a pre-feasibility study and finally to 51% upon delivery of a feasibility study.

The project contains an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 4.4 billion tonnes, grading 3.9% total heavy minerals.

David Archer, Savannah’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted with the issue of the first concession by the government of Mozambique, and now look forward to the issue of the remaining two mining licences, 9229CC and 9228C. When combined, these three concessions contain an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 4.4 [billion tonnes] at 3.9% total heavy minerals; this makes Mutamba one of the most attractive undeveloped mineral sands deposits in the world.”

“Our focus is now on progressing the pre-feasibility study at Mutamba towards completion, which, upon delivery, will trigger the increase in our interest in the Project from 20% to 35%,” Archer added.

This has been a busy week for the mining sector, and competitor Centamin have been involved in a takeover deal proposed by Endeavour Mining. This morning, shareholders got an update that Centamin had unanimously rejected the approach which saw its shares in green.

OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON: OPTI) have seen their shares dip on Monday afternoon, despite an agreement being made for a medicinal distribution in the Philippines.

OptiBiotix Health Plc. is a life sciences company operating in one of the most progressive areas of biotechnological research.

OptiBiotix develop technologies that modulate the human microbiome – the collective genome of the microbes in the body – OptiBiotix identifies and develops microbial strains, compounds and formulations for use in food ingredients, supplements and active compounds that can impact on human physiology, deriving potential health benefits.

Shares of OptiBiotix dipped 6.47% to 47p despite the apparently impressive announcement. 9/12/19 14:03BST.

The firm has seen a mixed few months of trading, as it saw its shares crash at the end of August despite gaining new licences and partnerships during the first half of the year.

Recovery was made by the firm however, in September it reported an agreement with a US company for the use of its cholesterol reducing Lactobacillus plantarum strain as a pharmaceutical drug product.

Today, the firm has said that t has signed an exclusive deal for distribution of probiotic supplement ‘CholBiome x3’ in the Philippines.

The deal was signed between OptiBiotix subsidiary ProBiotix Health Ltd and CTC Group unit CTC Far East Philippines Inc. CTC Group itself is the global business network group of Koen Visser Corp.

The deal’s exclusivity is subject to minimum order quantities, as well as a multi-year business plan aimed at improving OptiBiotix’s security in terms of income and revenue growth.

ProBiotix Chief Executive Steve Prescott said: “We are pleased to announce this agreement with CTC, which will expand ProBiotix’s presence in the emerging Asia-Pacific region. CTC was chosen as our partner for CholBiomex3 product introduction in the Philippines because of their extensive knowledge of the local market and consistent track record successfully launching new products.”

Many pharmaceuticals firms have made an ensured effort to tap into the relatively young Asian market.

It was reported last week that FTSE100 listed AstraZeneca plc and Merck & Co had reached marketing authorization from China’s National Medical Products Administration for their Lynparza drug.

This seems like a relatively good move, however shareholders of OptiBiotix do not seem so optimistic.

As the market continues to be come more and more saturated, dominated by names such as Pfizer who recently smashed market and analyst expectations, it seems that OptiBiotix will have to work on their products more to satisfy shareholders.