Tekcapital’s Innovative Eyewear rocketed 429% higher in just one trading session on Friday despite no fresh news being released through official channels. In addition, there weren’t any notable broker research notes released last week.

So, why did shares in Innovative Eyewear, a NASDAQ-listed Tekcapital portfolio company, surge over 400% before the Memorial Day holiday in the US?

Innovative Eyewear shares rose in spectacular fashion on high volume on Friday. More Innovative Eyewear shares traded than Tesla, AMD, Nvidia, Apple and Amazon combined – a total of LUCY 912m shares changed hands in Friday’s session.

As there was no obvious spark for the rally, the move higher was likely the culmination of positive news flow since the beginning of the year coming to a head.

The company has recorded a step change in revenue generation in recent quarters as the company begins the commercial roll out of its products following years of R&D.

Innovative Eyewear was the first company to enable smart eyewear with ChatGPT functionality last year and has since announced a series of fresh innovations and new ranges. Its attention is now firmly focused on getting its smart eyewear to as many people as possible.

At Innovative Eyewear, we recognize the transformative potential of AI agents and their integration into apps and operating systems. As these technologies become ubiquitous, we are strategically positioned to meet the growing demand with our innovative smart eyewear solutions…

— Lucyd Eyewear (@LucydEyewear) May 24, 2024

CEO Harrison Gross provided notable insight into the group’s sales and distribution strategy in a recent earnings update. The update set out how the company plans to achieve higher margins by focusing on distribution through retail partners who will provide the prescription lenses for the glasses.

This sales strategy builds on a global market strategy spearheaded by high-profile brand ambassadors, including football pundit Micah Richards. Investors now have the clearest picture of Innovative Eyewear’s go-to-market strategy, which would have contributed to Friday’s rally.

After the launch of Nautica smart eyewear at the beginning of 2024, investor anticipation will be building around the launch of additional branded smart eyewear, including Reebok and Eddie Bauer smart eyewear powered by Lucyd, later this year. The new ranges promise to bolster LUCY’s top line.

Hit the trails in style with the #Dockside frames from @nautica powered by #Lucyd ⛰️ These frames seamlessly blend #fashion with cutting-edge #technology. Whether you're conquering peaks or exploring the trails, stay #connected and look sharp with Dockside. pic.twitter.com/Ofo7V2nZ27

— Lucyd Eyewear (@LucydEyewear) May 23, 2024

The market may also be waking up to the potential for Innovative Eyewear’s smart eyewear range to carve out meaningful market share alongside alternatives developed by the world’s largest technology companies.

The smart eyewear market is forecast to grow to $33bn by 2030. Innovative Eyewear only needs a very small proportion of this market to create substantial shareholder value.

The FTSE 100 traded firmly in the red on Friday as investors took a cautious approach to mounting macroeconomic considerations.

London’s leading index was down 0.3% at the time of writing as traders fielded a barrage of factors, including poor UK retail sales, the upcoming UK election, and ongoing geopolitical tensions.

“It’s not been the best of weeks for the FTSE 100, with the UK blue-chip index on track to end the five-day session down 1.7%. Inflation, interest rates, politics, declining commodity prices, rights issues, the list goes on and it is fair to say the market has had quite a bit to worry about,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Risk appetite has diminished judging by what’s moving on the market. Utility stocks rebounded after yesterday’s sell-off triggered by National Grid’s rights issue and whether a Labour government might nationalise the country’s key utility providers. That was the only sector in demand on Friday, pretty much everything else in the FTSE 100 went into reverse.”

There were few major movers on Friday, suggesting investors were fine-tuning portfolios rather than making big decisions about positioning.

The selling of FTSE 100 stocks was broad but contained. Seventy of the FTSE 100’s constituents were trading in the red, with all but National Grid dropping less than 3%. National Grid was down 10% as the dilution due to the rights issue announced this week took effect.

Retailing shares Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Marks & Spencer posted surprise gains after UK retail sales fell much more than expected in April.

“Retail sales have sunk by far more than expected in the UK. There was a highly disappointing 2.3% decline in April, from a 0.2% dip in March,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Clothing retailers have been particularly badly hit, with wet weather raining on efforts to get customers spending on new spring/summer wardrobes. Sports equipment and furniture stores were also met by weaker footfall, as the gloomy weather didn’t spark enthusiasm for house and garden touch ups, or exercise.”

Ocado was the FTSE 100’s top riser after JP Morgan raised its price target to 450p from 350p, maintaining its neutral rating on the stocks. Ocado shares were 2.5% higher at the time of writing.

Genedrive plc, the pharmacogenetic testing firm, has secured orders worth over £100,000 from five additional UK hospitals for its Genedrive MT-RNR1 rapid genetic testing kit.

The Royal Oldham, Stepping Hill, Royal Bolton, Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, and Tameside General hospitals have ordered the tests as they roll out the technology in their neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

Genedrive shares rose over 4% on the news on Friday.

The five new sites more than double the number of UK NICUs routinely using Genedrive’s 26-minute genetic test. The non-invasive kit identifies newborns with a MT-RNR1 gene variant that puts them at high risk of hearing loss from aminoglycoside antibiotics. This allows clinicians to avoid prescribing those antibiotics for babies testing positive. The five new hospital NICUs admit around 1,900 babies annually.

The orders follow the test receiving a conditional recommendation from the UK’s health watchdog NICE in March 2023. While gathering further evidence for a full recommendation, the conditional status allows use of the test in the NHS.