Oversubscribed public stock issues were the most pronounced development in the Jamaican stock market for the past two weeks. Barita Investments raised $13.5 billion from the public offer of new ordinary shares in the previous week and was joined by Tropical Battery, with their IPO that closed on the same day of opening, with a raise of $325 million.
Barita eyeing acquisition.
Barita, a former IC Buy Rated stock capital raise, resulted in its share capital more than doubling from $10.88 billion to $24.4 billion and the overall equity capital moving to $28.74 billion. The stock price climbed to $77 at the close on Friday and provided investors in the APO with a nice 48 percent gain and more for smaller investors who bought at $49.
For a third consecutive week, there was no change in the companies on the IC TOP 10 listings, with the markets moving moderately higher partially helped by the rise in the price of Barita’s stock.
With the two public share issues out of the way, the Jamaica Stock Exchange market indices rose during the week with the JSE Main Market indices closing at the highest point since August 3 while the Junior Market was highest since August 26. The week’s movement reversed the negative effect the two issues had in diverting funds away from the market.
The top three stocks in each market saw no change in ranking for the top three Junior Market stocks, with the potential to gain between 295 to 709 percent by March 2021. Caribbean Producers heads the list, followed by Lasco Financial and Elite Diagnostic. The focus on all three is the 2021 fiscal year results, projected to show recovery from the 2020 financial year final numbers. The top three Main Market stocks, with expected gains of 205 to 231 percent, are Radio Jamaica, followed by Berger Paints and JMMB Group.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior Market and the Main Market are currently trading well below this level, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 14.8 and the Junior Market 11.2, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere six at just 54 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.3 or 56 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 280 percent, and 151 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicates potentially more significant gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on the possible increase for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and will result in movements of the selection in and out of the lists for most weeks. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.
Trading concluded with 31 securities changing hands compared to 33 on Thursday and ended with 10 stocks rising, the prices of 13 declining and eight with prices remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
Honey Bun dropped 28 cents to settle at $4.71 with 38,000 stock units changing hands, Indies Pharma slipped 2 cents to $2.81 with 81,707 shares traded, Jamaican Teas climbed 32 cents to end at $4.59 with investors transferring 46,300 stock units. Knutsford Express fell 10 cents to finish at $6.80 with 1,000 stocks passing through the market, Lasco Distributors gained 10 cents to close at $3.10 trading 63,350 shares, Lasco Manufacturing declined 10 cents to close at $3.50 with investors switching ownership of 56,694 shares. Limners and Bards lost 4 cents to end at $2.65 with 48,164 shares changing hands, Lumber Depot fell 4 cents and traded 342,738 stocks to settle at $1.05, Main Event added 1 cent to finish at $3.38 with 3,560 units passing through the market. Medical Disposables gained 8 cents to end at $5.08 with 9,001 stock units traded and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 5 cents to close at $5.55 with 12,340 stock units crossing the exchange.
For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 107,083 units at $232,850 compared to 110,542 units at $239,724 on Wednesday. Trading in August resulted in an average of 104,414 units at $321,996.
GWest Corporation slipped 2 cents to 95 cents with investors transferring 95 shares, iCreate gained 7 cents to finish at 75 cents with an exchange of 49,925 shares, ISP Finance climbed $3 to end at $15 with a mere 1 unit passing through the market. Jamaican Teas declined by 12 cents to settle at $4.27 with 5,525 stocks traded, Jetcon Corporation rose 7 cents to close at 93 cents with a transfer of 84,354 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing gained 10 cents to finish at $3.60 with 100 shares changing hands. Limners and Bards fell 6 cents to $2.69 with 85,599 units traded, Lumber Depot increased by 2 cents and exchanged 160,000 shares to settle at $1.09, Paramount Trading advanced 29 cents to end at $1.70 with investors trading 100 stocks and SSL Venture slipped 1 cent to 74 cents with 100 shares crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
Indies Pharma advanced 6 cents and traded 5,890 shares to settle at $2.83, Jamaican Teas closed 4 cents higher at $4.39 with 200,526 units traded, Jetcon Corporation climbed 3 cents to finish at 86 cents with 70,005 shares passing through the market. Limners and Bards gained 24 cents to end at $2.75 with investors switching ownership of 110,360 units, Lumber Depot exchanged 1,001,000 stock units and lost 3 cents to settle at $1.07, Mailpac Group fell 4 cents to $2.05 with 1,039,938 shares changing hands. Medical Disposables climbed 15 cents to close at $5 with a mere 5 units traded and Stationery and Office Supplies jumped 59 cents to finish at $5.60 with 299 shares crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
Indies Pharma slipped 1 cent to $2.83, in transferring 4,895 shares, Iron Rock Insurance closed at $3.10, after gaining 10 cents with 13,319 stock units crossing the market, Jamaican Teas lost 30 cents to settle at $4.25, with 37,304 shares changing hands. Lasco Distributors rose 10 cents to end at $3.10, in an exchange of 42,982 shares, Lasco Financial lost 2 cents to close at $2.08, with 59,055 shares clearing the market, Limners and Bards gained 12 cents to close at $2.69 after investors switched the ownership of 60,313 shares. Lumber Depot shed 5 cents to end at $1.04 with 824,663 shares crossing the market, Mailpac Group dipped 3 cents to $2.05, with 742,481 shares changing hands, Medical Disposables dropped 59 cents to settle at $4.55, in transferring 11,448 stock units. Paramount Trading gained 11 cents to close at $1.41, with investors swapping 1,000 units, SSL Venture rose 5 cents to 75 cents in trading 2,459 units and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 58 cents to $5 in exchanging 13,215 stock units.
The focus on all three is on the 2021 fiscal year results projected to show recovery from the 2020 financial year final numbers. The top three Main Market stocks, with expected gains of 204 to 228 percent, are Radio Jamaica, followed by Berger Paints, with the price rising 7 percent during the week and JMMB Group.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level, indicating the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 15.3 and the Junior Market 11, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere six at just 55 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.2 or 54 percent of the PE of the overall market.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 280 percent, and 151 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, indicates potentially more significant gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
Trading resulted in the same number of securities on Thursday and Friday changing hands with 31 each day and closed with the prices of 13 stocks rising, 11 declining and seven remaining unchanged.
Iron Rock Insurance gained 12 cents to settle at $3, with an exchange of 6,681 units, ISP Finance dropped $3 to $12 with 100 shares clearing the market, Knutsford Express gained 5 cents to close at $6.90 with an exchange of 4,334 stock units. Lasco Distributors lost 7 cents, finishing at $3, exchanging 48,120 shares, Lasco Manufacturing shed 13 cents to settle at $3.52, in trading 49,975 stocks, Limners and Bards fell by 13 cents to end at $2.57, in exchanging 43,120 shares. Lumber Depot gained 5 cents to close at $1.09, in finishing with a transfer of 2,495,326 stock units, Mailpac Group rose 2 cents to settle at $2.08 trading 223,047 shares and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 2 cents in closing at $5.58, with investors switching ownership of 10 stocks.
Trading ended with 31 securities changing hands compared to 29 on Wednesday and ended with the prices of 17 stocks rising, the prices of 10 stocks declining and four, with remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Honey Bun gained 38 cents to settle at $5.09 with 200 shares changing hands, Jamaican Teas advanced 50 cents to close at $4.55 while exchanging 192 stocks, Knutsford Express lost 5 cents to finish at $6.85 with 1,100 stocks traded. Lasco Distributors increased 7 cents to end at $3.07 with 2,862 stock units passing through the market, Lasco Financial slipped 3 cents to $2.10 with investors transferring 22,581 shares Lasco Manufacturing advanced 12 cents to close at $3.65 with 123,555 stocks changing hands. Limners and Bards lost 17 cents to finish at $2.70 with an exchange of 7,432 stock units, Lumber Depot declined by 5 cents to settle at $1.04 with investors switching ownership 0f 58,541 shares, Mailpac Group traded 510,609 stock units and rose 1 cent to end at $2.06. Medical Disposables climbed 15 cents to $5.14 in an exchange of 50,000 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 2 cents to finish at $5.60 with investors transferring 1,200 stock units and tTech gained 5 cents to settle at $5.80 with 123 stocks crossing the exchange.
Trading ended with 29 securities changing hands compared to 35 on Tuesday and concluded with the prices of nine stocks rising, the prices of 16 stocks declining and four with prices remaining unchanged.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained 7 cents to end at $21.58 in an exchange of 200 shares, Blue Power shed 31 cents to settle at $3.04 with 1,000 stock units traded, Caribbean Assurance Brokers declined by 14 cents to finish at $1.91 with 44,013 units changing hands. Caribbean Flavours fell 70 cents to close at $17.60 with investors transferring 28,500 shares, Caribbean Producers rose 4 cents to end at $2.35 with 7,015 stocks passing through the market, Derrimon Trading advanced 34 cents to finish at $2.90 in an exchange of 84,733 stocks. Elite Diagnostic lost 3 cents to close at $3.25, with investors switching ownership of 450 stocks, Express Catering climbed 35 cents to settle at $4.35 with 357,000 stock units traded, Fontana advanced 5 cents to end at $4.75 with 22,975 shares passing through the market. Fosrich dropped 35 cents to finish at $3.60 with 14,243 units changing hands, General Accident shed $1 to close at $6.30 in an exchange of 60,500 stocks, Honey Bun declined by 39 cents to settle at $4.71 with investors switching ownership of 2,153 stocks iCreate finished 2 cents lower at 68 cents with an exchange of 17,460 stock units, Indies Pharma fell 5 cents to end at $2.75 with 1,000 stock units passing through the market, Jamaican Teas declined by 55 cents, trading 210,090 units to close at $4.05. 
Jetcon Corporation gained 1 cent to settle at 86 cents with an exchange of 1,100 stocks, Lasco Financial rose 2 cents to end at $2.13 with 2,320 stocks changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing lost 17 cents to close at $3.53 with investors switching ownership of 21,700 shares. Limners and Bards climbed 22 cents to finish at $2.87 with 37,700 stock units passing through the market, Mailpac Group declined by 4 cents to end at $2.05 in an exchange of 169,935 shares, Main Event slipped 1 cent to $3.38 with investors transferring 884 stock units. Medical Disposables advanced 19 cents to close at $4.99 with 2,185 stocks passing through the market, SSL Venture fell 5 cents to settle at 70 cents with 10,000 stocks changing hands and Stationery and Office Supplies declined by 2 cents to finish at $5.58 with 1,000 shares crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows four stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
Honey Bun gained 39 cents to end at $5.10, with 4,000 units crossing the exchange, Indies Pharma closed at $2.80, after gaining 18 cents in transferring 1,778 units. Iron Rock Insurance gained of 3 cents to close at $2.88, after 7,808 units crossed the market, Jamaican Teas shed 9 cents in closing at $4.60, after an exchange of 80,819 shares, Lasco Distributors lost 5 cents to end at $3, with 64,640 stock units changing hands. Lasco Financial lost 1 cent to settle at $2.11 and crossing the exchange with 75,065 stocks, Lasco Manufacturing was down 9 cents to $3.70 trading 524 units, Limners and Bards rose 17 cents to $2.65, in transferring 214,286 stock units. Lumber Depot lost 1 cent to close at $1.09, clearing the market with 3,062,441 shares, MailPac Group finished 9 cents higher at $2.09 after exchanging 99,853 stocks, Medical Disposables rose 9 cents to $4.80, with 20,170 stock units changing hands. Paramount Trading shed 20 cents in closing at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.30 after crossing the exchange with 50,157 stock units, SSL Venture gained 5 cents to end at 75 cents, with investors swapping 1,106 units and Stationery and Office Supplies settled at $5.60, with gains of 40 cents exchanging 153,622 shares.