Aquis weekly movers: Hydrogen Utopia confirms standard switch

Andrew Hore
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Aquis weekly movers: Hydrogen Utopia confirms standard switch

Hydrogen Utopia International (LON: HUI) confirmed that the FCA has approved its admission to the standard list, and this is set to happen on 9 January. The share price rose 10.8% to 16.625p.

Steen Andersen became chief executive of probiotics products developer ProBiotix Health (LON: PBX) at the beginning of 2023. Revenues are improving and a trading statement will be published in the next few months. Product ranges are expanding and being launched in new countries. ProBiotix e-commerce revenues could be between £250,000 and £500,000 in 2023. The share price improved by 10.3% to 21.5p.

The pre-feasibility study for the Amapa iron ore project in Brazil, where Cadence Minerals (LON: KDNC) has a 30% stake in a joint venture that can be increased to 49%, indicates a capital cost of $399m to bring the mine back into production. Based on the cost estimates in the study, WH Ireland believes that at full production the mine could generate a profit contribution of $292m a year – based on iron ore prices of $100/t and $120/t depending on the grade. It believes the project could breakeven at an iron price of $85/t. The price is currently around $115/t. Chief executive Kiran Morzaria bought 45,454 shares at 11p each. The share price rose 6.43% to 12p on the week.

Marula Mining (LON: MARU) said it did not know why the share price had risen early in the week. It did fall back but remained 6% ahead at 4.4p. Management did note that there is increasing interest in its lithium, graphite and copper projects in Africa.

Fenikso Ltd (LON: FNK), which was previously called Lekoil, has completed the settlement agreements with Lekoil Nigeria Ltd and its former chief executive, as well as terminating arrangements with Savannah Energy (LON: SAVE). However, Lekoil Nigeria has been given additional time to surrender the 107.7 million shares it holds in Fenikso, which has no operating assets. The share price moved up by 2.74% to 0.75p.

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Fallers

AQRU (LON: AQRU) is the worst performer of the week falling 25.5% to 0.51p. It is an investor in Streaks Gaming (LON: STK), which has joined the standard list raising £3m at 3p a share and the share price ended the week at 3.5p (3p/4p). AQRU invested £2.3m in the placing.

Three brokers published notes on Invinity Energy Systems (LON: IES) last week. Forecast 2023 revenues were upgraded after recent contract wins. Canaccord Genuity and VSA both have buy recommendations and all three have target prices well above the current share price of 41p, down 4.65% on the week. Canaccord Genuity has the lowest target price of 75p.

Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd (LON: GSVR) has increased its proposed fundraising from C$7.5m to C$8.5m via an issue of units at C$0.425 each. The unit comprises one share and 0.5 of a warrant exercisable at C$0.60. A first tranche of C$6.8m has been issued and the rest should be issued by 10 January. The share price slipped 1.89% to 26p.

AIM weekly movers: GENinCode progresses towards US launch

Andrew Hore
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AIM weekly movers: GENinCode progresses towards US launch

Heart health diagnostics firm GENinCode (LON: GENI) has received California state licensing approval and CLIA certification for its laboratory in Irvine, California. The share price more than doubled, but profit-taking meant that it ended the week 88.4% higher at 14.6p. The certification will allow processing of Lipidin Code, which is set to be launched in the US first, and Cardioin Code tests. Lipid inCode diagnoses family hypercholesterolemia, which has a low rate of diagnosis with four-fifths of sufferers estimated to be undiagnosed. Cardio inCode focuses on genetic risk. There are plans to obtain FDA approval for Cardioin Code. There should be enough cash in the bank to last until the end of 2023.

hVIVO (LON: HVO) has secured a £5.2m contract with an Asia Pacific-based biotech company to test a vaccine in a Phase IIa study. The clinical trial will commence in the second half of 2023. This uses the company’s respiratory syncytial virus human challenge study. There are 95% of 2023 forecast revenues of £54m already contracted. The share price jumped 30% to 13p.

Hotel Chocolat (LON: HOTC) has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Tokyo-based Eat Creator Corporation, which will provide investment and expertise in Japanese food brand development. Hotel Chocolat will own 20% of the new company and receive brand royalty revenues. The new company will run the 21 Hotel Chocolat stores in Japan. The hare price recovered by 28% to 199p. The highest price since July.

Smart meter technology developer CyanConnode (LON: CYAN) gained an order for 983,525 Omnimesh modules and related hardware, plus a service and maintenance contract from Montecarlo. They will be installed in Madhya Pradesh, India. CyanConnode will commence deliveries in the first quarter. The order book in India is more than 3.6 million modules. The share price is 26.9% higher at 17.125p.

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Fallers

The Angle (LON: AGL) share price has slumped by 49.5% to 25.5p because revenues will be lower than expected. Market conditions have hampered the cancer diagnostics company in securing partnerships and building the commercial use of the Parsortix cancer cells capture technology. Revenues will be just above £1m in 2022 after contract delays, while 2023 revenues have been downgraded from £5m to £3.9m. Cash was around £32m at the end of 2022 and that should last until the middle of 2024.

In-video game advertising technology company Bidstack (LON: BIDS) says that it has invoiced Azerion Technology, but it is not being paid and has received a termination notice from the company. Bidstack says that there is no entitlement to end the agreement and it is claiming damages. Azerion Technology has been in dispute since October and this deal was underpinning forecasts. The share price slumped 29.7% to 1.95p.

Helium One Global (LON: HE1) will not be able to procure the Exalo drilling rig as it had expected because the current user has taken up a 12-month option. This will delay exploration drilling, which was due to start in the first quarter of 2023. At the end of last year, Helium One Global raised £9.9m at 5p a share to finance a single exploration well in the Tai prospect in the Rukwa Basin, Tanzania. This will help to prove up a working helium system. There are alternative rigs that could be secured, but this will mean drilling commencing later in the year. The share price declined by 26.8% to 5.2p.

United Oil & Gas (LON: UOG) says that the ASW-1X exploration well in Egypt did not discover any hydrocarbons. The drilling rig will be moved to the ASH-8 development well. This is also on the Abu Sennan licence where United Oil & Gas has a 22% non-operating interest. The share price slumped by 24.1% to 1.025p.

Pathfinder Minerals (LON: PFP) says the option agreement for the sale of IM Minerals to Acumen Advisory has been extended to 31 January. Pathfinder Minerals also raised £500,000 at 0.5p a share. The share price is 21.1% lower at 0.375p.

FTSE 100 closes in on pre-pandemic highs after US jobs report

UK Investor Magazine
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FTSE 100 closes in on pre-pandemic highs after US jobs report

The FTSE 100 rallied on Friday and closed in on pre-pandemic levels after a robust US jobs number demonstrated strength in the worlds largest economy, at a time inflation rates have began to decline.

The FTSE 100 was trading at 7,689, up 0.71% at the time of writing. A close above 7,672 would be the highest closing level since before the start of the pandemic in 2020.

US futures were surging with the S&P 500 up 1% and NASDAQ up 1.05%.

London-listed equities tracked a US equities higher as investors digested a US jobs report that showed the US unemployment rate falling alongside lower average wage growth, while the headline Non-Farm Payrolls beat expectations.

The US economy added 223,000 jobs in December, beating analyst estimates of 203,000 jobs added.

The Federal Reserve is now contending with falling inflation in a healthy economy, apparently able to withstand high prices and sharply higher interest rates. US CPI data due next week will be closely watched for confirmation of a trend to the downside in inflation figures and hints of what the Fed will do next.

Shell & BP

The strong jobs number helped build on a FTSE 100 rally on Friday that started with strength in oil majors BP & Shell. Shell released an insight into their Q4 results on Friday highlighting strong performance in their gas divisions.

Shell was 1.5% higher and BP was gaining 1.6% at the time of writing.

UK Retail spending

UK food retailers Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Tesco caught the interest of investors on Friday following Kantar data for the Christmas trading period earlier in week continued to provide support for the sector. Attractive results from Next and Greggs also provided evidence of a resilient UK consumer during December.

Tesco is set to report Christmas trading 13th January and Sainbury’s will release their figures 11th January.

Nanoco shares jump as settlement agreed with Samsung

UK Investor Magazine
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Nanoco shares jump as settlement agreed with Samsung

Nanoco shares jumped on Friday after the company announced it reached a no fault settlement with Samsung relating to the infringement of Nanoco’s intellectual property.

Nanoco is the manufacturer of cadmium-free quantum dots with a broad range of applications including LED and security tagging.

It was alleged Samsung had infringed a number of patents related to technology used in TV screens and Nanoco filed lawsuits in the US, Germany and China.

A term sheet for a no fault settlement has now been agreed and each party has 30 days to agree the details of a binding agreement.

Nanoco shares were 34% higher at the time of writing.

Shell shares jump after Q4 update

UK Investor Magazine
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Shell shares jump after Q4 update

Shell have released a precursor to their Q4 results reflecting ongoing benefits of higher oil prices due geopolitics, and the negative impact of windfall taxes.

“In its usual teaser of quarterly results Shell has a classic good news/bad news combination to offer shareholders,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“First the good news: the company’s large liquefied natural gas business is expected to have delivered a very strong performance despite lower output on plant outages. This demonstrates just how robust LNG pricing is right now as countries scramble to replace Russian gas.”

“Now for the bad news: lower oil prices will hit the oil products part of the business and Shell has quantified the material impact of freshly introduced windfall taxes in the UK and Europe – which are now expected to run into the billions.”

Shell said new EU and UK levies on profits from hydrocarbon production would cost them around $2 billion.

Nonetheless, Shell shares rose on stronger LNG trading and positive refining margins which are expected to increase in $19 per barrel in Q4, up from $15 per barrel in Q3.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has lifted profits at Shell and the oil major on course for record earnings in 2022.

Shell shares were trading at 2,338p, up 1.1%, at the time of writing.

AIM movers: One Media IP bets revenue expectations and Mosman flow rate for Cinnabar

Andrew Hore
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AIM movers: One Media IP bets revenue expectations and Mosman flow rate for Cinnabar

One Media IP (LON: OMIP) expects revenues to be £5.1m and EBITDA of £1.8m in the year to October 2022. Revenues are better than forecast, but EBITDA is in line. The music and video IP rights owner has net cash of around £1.4m. Anti-piracy subsidiary TCAT is winning new contracts and One Media IP is no longer considering outside funding for the subsidiary. The annual results will be published in March and the company says that it still intends to pay a dividend. The share price rose 7.69% to 7p.

Quantum Blockchain Technologies (LON: QBT) has recruited Dr Lov Kumar Grover to help it develop methods to mine Bitcoin more cheaply and efficiently. He has been granted five million warrants exercisable at 5p each. The share jumped 14% to 1.225p

Asiamet Resources Ltd (LON: ARS) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese engineering, procurement and construction group BGRIMM Technology for the production plant of the BKM copper project. BGRIMM Technology will design and cost the facility for the feasibility study and if the decision to invest is made then it could provide an engineering and procurement service contract. The share price rose by 6.52% to 1.225p.

Mosman Oil & Gas (LON: MSMN) says the Cinnabar-1 well in Texas had an average flow over 24 hours of 120 barrels of oil and 180,000 cubic feet of gas. At these initial flow rates Cinnabar would double existing net production. The well has already produced 1,000 barrels of oil and arrangements are being made for its sale. After an initial gain, the share price has fallen 7.41% to 0.0625p on the day.

Shares in Angle (LON: AGL) continue to decline following yesterday’s trading statement that revealed revenues falling short of expectations in 2022 and a further shortfall compared with forecasts in 2023.  Market conditions have hampered the cancer diagnostics company in securing partnerships and building the commercial use of the Parsortix cancer cells capture technology. The share price is down 11.6% to 26.75p on the day and has fallen 47% this week.

Progress at Amapa, Lithium, and Rare Earths with Cadence Minerals

UK Investor Magazine
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Progress at Amapa, Lithium, and Rare Earths with Cadence Minerals

The UK Investor Magazine Podcast was thrilled to welcome Kiran Morzaria, CEO of Cadence Minerals, for a deep dive into progress at the Amapa iron ore project in Brazil and the overall Cadence Minerals portfolio.

Cadence Minerals announced the results of a pre-feasibility study earlier in the week marking a major milestone in development of the mine. Kiran provides an overview of the PFS technical findings and explains the significance of a PFS in the journey towards production and cashflows for the mine.

We explore the valuation of Cadence Minerals’ portfolio and the disconnect between current market pricing and value of their assets. Kiran shares his views on metal prices and the current macro environment.

In addition to Amapa, Cadence Minerals has a substantial portfolio of critical mineral assets including rare earths and lithium. Kiran provides insight into the Evergreen lithium project and what investors can look forward to in 2023. We also explore the Sonora lithium project and their Hastings rare earth assets.

For more information, please visit the Cadence Mineral’s website.

FTSE 100 rises as Next leads a retailer charge

UK Investor Magazine
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FTSE 100 rises as Next leads a retailer charge

Next was the FTSE 100’s top riser on Thursday after the retailer impressed investors with a robust set of festive trading figures and ignited a rally in the UK’s listed retail companies.

Next shares were 7% higher at the time of writing and the FTSE 100 was gaining 0.4% to 7,618.

The festive trading period is key for retailers and Next is seen as a bellwether for the UK high street. The health of the consumer has been a major concern but today’s results from Next suggest shoppers are still in a position to spend, despite rising inflation and interest rates.

Ocado, Frasers Group and JD Sports all gained substantially on hopes they would also reveal similarly upbeat results to Next.

Greggs and B&M European Value also reported resilient numbers today. However, analysts cautioned that the location of these companies’ outlets may have favoured travel conditions and their sales may not be evident in retailer with a city centre focus.

“Next, B&M and Greggs are united by having a presence on retail parks where business has been better than expected in general. Widespread train strikes will have prevented a lot of people from going to city centre shops, which means retail parks with their plentiful parking spaces have been the preferred alternative shopping destination,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

JD Sports are set to release their Christmas trading statement 11th January and Ocado 17th January.

China strength

The miners were once again higher after a strong session in Asia overnight.

“Asian stocks have fared well over night with Chinese indices doing particularly well with the Shanghai composite up 1.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.9% as news emerged that the border with China is soon to open. The Hang Seng is now at its highest level since the end of October 2022,” said Derren Nathan, Head of Equity Research, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Pearson was the FTSE 100’s biggest loser after the education material provider was cut to underperform with a price target of 865p. Pearson shares were down 4.4% to 911p.

AIM movers: Itaconix board appointment and ex-dividend

Andrew Hore
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3
AIM movers: Itaconix board appointment and ex-dividend

Plant-based polymers developer Itaconix (LON: ITX) has appointed Paul LeBlanc as a non-executive director. Dr Peter Nieuwenhuizen has been confirmed as chair. Last year, Itaconix had problems with shareholders over the make up of the board. There are two executives and two non-execs on the board. The share price improved 9.09% to 4.8p.

Cleaning services provider React Group (LON: REAT) has won a two-year contract with a high street fast food chain and it should generate revenues of £800,000 in the year to September 2023. It was an existing client of window cleaning business LaddersFree, which was bought last May. The share price rose 7.14% to 1.125p.

Workplace efficiency software company Checkit (LON: CKT) has won new contracts in the US and renewed a contract in the UK. Three US contracts will generate a minimum $1m over three years. The UK contract is worth a further £2.1m over four years. The share price moved up by 4.55% to 23p.

The Angle (LON: AGL) share price has slumped by 31.3% to 33p. Last July, money was raised at 80p.  Market conditions have hampered the cancer diagnostics company in securing partnerships and building the commercial use of the Parsortix cancer cells capture technology. Revenues will be just above £1m in 2022 after contract delays, while 2023 revenues will be lower than the £5m previously forecast. The closure of the facility in Canada will cut costs by £2.6m in 2023. Cash was around £32m at the end of 2022 and that should last until the middle of 2024.

Live Company Group (LON: LVCG) has reinstated quarterly updates. Management of the live events company says that Covid still had a negative impact on its events last year. Revenues are slow in developing and cost savings are being made. Non-execs will receive their pay in shares. Short-term liquidity facilities are being explored. An analyst update is planned in the first quarter of 2023. The share price fell 14.8% to 2.6p. Proteome Sciences (LON: PRM) is receiving a £870,000 milestone payment for TMT/TMTpro sales from partner Thermo Scientific. This will be recognised in the 2022 accounts. Even so, the share price fell 4.29% to 3.35p.

Ex-dividends

Cohort (LON: CHRT) is paying an interim dividend of 4.25p a share and the share price declined by 4p to 524p.

i3 Energy (LON: I3E) is paying a dividend of 0.17p a share and the share price dived 0.975p to 21.725p.

Impellam (LON: IPEL) is paying a special dividend of 55.4p a share and the share price dropped 65p to 670p.

Iomart (LON: IOM) is paying an interim dividend of 1.94p a share and the share price rose 0.4p to 123.6p.

Lendinvest (LON: LINV) is paying an interim dividend of 1.3p a share and the share price fell 0.75p to 77.5p.

Smart Metering Systems (LON: SMS) is paying a dividend of 7.56p a share and the share price slipped 0.5p to 794.5p.

How technology has revolutionised the forex market

UK Investor Magazine
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How technology has revolutionised the forex market

Much like many big industries that operate online, the forex market has changed considerably, thanks to technological innovations and widespread online developments. Today, we will examine exactly what changes have occurred and which were landmark events that caused the forex market to evolve.

What is the forex market?

Firstly, we will begin by explaining the forex market, which is quite straightforward. The foreign exchange market is where major currencies are bought and sold. Due to the nature of the currencies involved, the market is open 24 hours a day. While most of the pairs match up with the US dollar, other pairings involve the euro and the British pound.

How big is the forex market?

The forex trading market is a monumental sector. It is hard to imagine just how huge the market is. There are trillions of dollars’ worth of assets traded every single day. When traders enter this market, they are split into two categories. Large institutions such as investment banks, which deal with billion-dollar trades, are called institutional investors. Smaller investors, such as you or me, are known as retail investors and use less capital. 

If you are trading for the first time, you must invest and trade in an area you understand. Whether you take time to study the topic or set up tools to help you trade, there isn’t much point in doing this if you don’t understand the market. However, even professional traders lose money, as the markets are volatile and do not follow any particular pattern. There’s no way to guarantee that you’ll make money in the forex market.

What type of trading has changed the most?

Dozens of methods are used to try and make a profit in forex trading. There are short-term strategies such as scalping or day trading. However, there are also more complex ways of trading, such as arbitrage trading, which takes advantage of small price differentials between exchanges. Forex arbitrage software is just one specific area that has changed significantly in the world of forex trading, while scalping, swing trading and day trading have all changed in profound ways too.

Automated trading software

One of the key ways to implement safety in your trading strategy is to set buy and sell limits. This involves setting a lower limit to sell your asset in the event of a sharp market decline, and a sell limit if it hits the price ceiling, so you can enjoy your profits. Before the rise of the internet, automated trading software was used by institutions. However, now that technology has revolutionised automated trading, you can use an array of apps to set these limits, and you can also set them automatically on many big exchanges to make sure your trade goes through.

Trade on the go

Mobile technology makes it possible for investors to trade on their mobile phones while they do their daily business. You can trade outside of your full-time job as you try to turn it into a full-time vocation, whereas 20 years ago, you would have had to be glued to a trading desk as a full-time trader.

However, the technology has become so advanced that any retail trader can trade forex 24/7 by pulling out their smartphone and downloading a mobile app.

Trading the news

As social media has brought people closer together than ever, we can access news much more quickly than before. Trading the news is something that successful forex traders do and have done for many decades. Having access to instant news can work to your advantage if you’re looking to purchase an asset straight away. 

This is particularly applicable to stocks and shares but can also apply to forex trading, such as the mini-budget unveiled by the UK government in September 2022. Many forex traders traded the news of the disaster budget and made millions in profit by shorting the pound.

Conversely, you can be inundated with news you are unsure is sourced by a legitimate provider. Taking into account huge news stories is just one of many factors that professionals will weigh up before they enter a trade.

Conclusion

Forex market trading can be a profitable venture for traders. However, it can be turbulent and tumultuous for many, particularly beginner retail traders who need to learn how the market works. You must ensure that you invest money you can afford to lose, and fully understand the risks involved before you enter the market.

We have only looked at a handful of technological advancements that have affected the market over the last couple of decades. The truth is we could name dozens, and there will be many more as technology continues to bring convenience to every part of our daily lives.

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