Tekcapital has received a 21.4p fair value target from Kemeny Capital based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis of their portfolio companies.

Tekcapital shares were trading 4.5% higher at 10.85p at the time of writing on Tuesday.

The report issued by Kemeny Capital highlights the disconnect between Tekcapital’s share price and the value of its portfolio companies Innovative Eyewear, Guident, Microsalt, and Belluscura.

Tekcapital commercialises university-developed technology and has built a portfolio of four publicly-listed and privately-held companies with the potential to improve millions of people’s lives. The report says Tekcapital is ‘underappreciated’ by the market.

Kemeny Capital said risks to the fair value target include a lack of portfolio company commercial traction and general macroeconomic headwinds.

The research report can be accessed here.

Disclaimer: Kemeny Capital is owned by the same parent company as UK Investor Magazine.

ECR Minerals shares were trading higher on Tuesday morning after releasing an update on their Lolworth project which has confirmed the presence of Gold, Niobium, Tantalum and REE,

Exploration company ECR has found visible gold and recorded encouraging pan concentration stream samples. The best results were 594 ppm and 138 ppm gold from streams near Reedy Creek in the centre of the project area.

ECR also found niobium, tantalum and the rare earth element neodymium in samples from Oaky Creek.

ECR said 28 out of 200 samples show values greater than 500 ppm in Niobium which they say may indicate a source rocks in the vicinity and possibly a significant discovery.

CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: 

“Putting aside the fact today’s results add a further significant piece to the Lolworth jigsaw, the progress announced today also serves to illustrate the painstaking and methodical work by Adam Jones and the field team in mapping and logging a hitherto virtually untouched and unexplored area. The detail now provided by the numerous Gold, Niobium and Tantalum results generated from this work are enabling us to zero in on the sources and the high potential locations in order that we can delineate drill targets.”

“ECR’s Lolworth project continues to exceed expectations. Meanwhile we expect to report further results from our projects within a week.”

The company will now analyse rock samples taken in both areas and complete more soil sampling. It aims to delineate drill targets before the field season ends this summer.

Over 200 pan concentrate results were received so far from 628 samples taken since exploration began last year. ECR said visible gold keeps occurring during panning. It stressed the stream samples don’t indicate an in-situ resource.

The FTSE 100 was weaker on Monday as investors once again felt the pressure of interest rate hikes and UK house price data knocked the FTSE 100’s housebuilders.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.45% to 7,531 at the time of writing.

Another robust US jobs report released on Friday showed average wage growth was still running hot in July suggesting the Federal Reserve will continue to increase interest rates to control inflation. US stocks fell on Friday and Asia started the week in the red as a result.

European shares were set for a weaker start on Monday and the FTSE 100’s decline was exacerbated by downbeat house price data released by Halifax. Halifax said UK house prices had fallen 2.4% in the year to July.

“The big move higher in UK rates continues to have a dampening effect on the UK housing market. Figures from Halifax unsurprisingly showed a fourth straight month of declining prices. With mortgages becoming less affordable it is proving increasingly difficult for people to get a leg up on the property ladder or even join the ladder in the first place,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey was among the top fallers on the FTSE 100 this morning. The sector faces a very different environment today after years of strong property prices, cheap mortgages and state support for first-time buyers.”

UK equity bulls had little to get excited about on Monday with few stocks making convincing gains. Rolls Royce was the top riser, gaining 1%, as the engineering firm continued its monumental rally.

Against the backdrop of Clinton Cards talking about going into administration it was a very pleasant surprise for investors in Card Factory (LON:CARD) to see the positivity in today’s Trading Update.

Its shares have opened 16.5% higher at 103.5p.

The £304m capitalised group, which is the UK’s leading specialist retailer of greetings cards, gifts and celebration essentials, reported that trading in the first half to end July was materially ahead of Board expectations.

That is even more impressive when the group states that the macro-economic environment continues to be uncertain, despite which it is expecting that the second half year to end January 2024 will show its strong performance continuing to result in far better than the market’s estimates.

Competitor Clinton Cards has been recently reported to be looking to close around a fifth of its stores in order to stave off insolvency.

Trade publisher Retail Gazette has mentioned that part of Clintons plans could see it close 38 stores., on top of the 156 shops it closed back in December 2019 as part of a pre-pack administration, when its previous owner, the Weiss family that owns US giant American Greetings, snapped it back up.

The Wakefield-based Card Factory, which now turns over nearly £10m each week, started its operations way back in 1997 with just one shop, has expanded mainly through its organic growth into now having a nationwide presence.

The group now has over 8,800 employees and has around 1,020 stores in the UK and Ireland.

The UK market for greetings cards is some £1.4bn a year.

Estimates exist for the group to make around £51.5m pre-tax in the current year on the back of some £500m sales, worth 11p in earnings per share.

Next year estimates suggest £532m revenues and £56.1m profits and 12p earnings.

The company’s shares bottomed out in late August last year, down to 40.40p, and peaked at 114.80p in early May this year.

The average consensus view from the four analysts that follow the group is that the shares will go at 126p in due course.

This morning they have opened at 103.5p, up 16.5%.

Beacon Energy shares jumped on Monday after providing an update on its drilling operations for the Schwarzbach-2(2.) well in the Erfelden field in Germany.

The company is currently drilling a deviated sidetrack of the well, which is part of the development of the Stockstadt Mitte segment of the Erfelden field.

Beacon Energy shares were 11% higher at the time of writing.

The primary objectives of the Schwarzbach-2(2.) well are to test reservoir targets and Beacon expects to reach total depth (TD) in the coming days. Once drilling is completed, the company will conduct testing to determine if the well can produce commercial quantities of oil and gas.

The drilling results will provide important information on the productivity potential of this section of the Erfelden field, which is a key asset for Beacon Energy in Germany.

Beacon Energy shares were readmitted to AIM in April this year after completing the reverse takeover of Rhein Petroleum.