Trading jumped sharply by the close of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Monday, with the volume of stocks traded surging 68 percent more than on Friday as the value of stocks trading jumped 131 percent higher than the previous trading day.
Market activity led to 41 securities trading compared to 42 on Friday, with 15 rising, 21 declining and five closing unchanged. At the close, the Junior Market Index fell 38.77 points to settle at 4,013.42.
The PE Ratio, a measure used to compute appropriate stock values, averages 21.8. The PE ratio of each stock in the attacked chart is based on ICInsider.com earnings forecast for companies with financial years up to August 2022.
Overall, 49,008,399 shares traded for $190,021,639 up from 29,255,984 units at $82,401,537 on the Friday. EduFocal led trading with 29.64 million shares and controlled 60.5 percent of total volume after trading at a record high, followed by JFP Limited with 5.42 million units for 11.1 percent of the day’s trade, Future Energy Source contributed 3.98 million units for 8.1 percent market share, iCreate had 1.57 million units changing hands for 3.2 percent market share and Fosrich ended with 1.52 million units for 3.1 percent of the trades.
Trading averaged 1,195,327 shares at $4,634,674 in contrast to 696,571 shares at $1,961,941 on Friday with the month to date, averaging 616,440 units at $2,354,900, up from 572,569 units at $2,182,126 on the previous trading day. February closed with an average of 370,064 units at $1,402,517.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three, with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging dropped 20 cents to close at $2.95 after trading 111,476 shares, Cargo Handlers fell $3 to $8.50, with 4,059 stocks clearing the market, Caribbean Cream rallied 52 cents in closing at $5.23 after switching ownership of 33,000 stock units. Dolphin Cove increased $2 to $26, with 233,348 units crossing the market, Express Catering lost 19 cents to end at $5.06 trading 43,078 stock units, Fosrich shed 65 cents in closing at $16.20 while exchanging 1,519,918 shares. Jamaican Teas rose 13 cents to end at $3.50, with 486,088 stocks changing hands, KLE Group popped 65 cents to $2.85 with the swapping of 20,852 units, Knutsford Express declined 15 cents to close at $7.85 in trading 11,860 stocks. Lasco Distributors fell 22 cents in ending at $3.48 after 47,266 stock units crossed the market, Lasco Financial shed 24 cents in closing at $3.20 with an exchange of 40,868 units, Limners and Bards declined 15 cents to end at $3.20 in exchanging 294,766 shares. 
Lumber Depot dropped 13 cents to $3.50 in an exchange of 909,098 stocks, Main Event gained 81 cents ending at a 52 weeks’ high of $9.14 after an exchange of 460,045 units, Spur Tree Spices lost 14 cents to close at $3.46, with 497,787 shares changing hands. SSL Venture climbed 30 cents to close at $2.20 after exchanging 41,161 stock units, Tropical Battery advanced 16 cents after ending at $2.17 and trading 685,585 stocks and tTech lost 34 cents to end at 3.91 with 55,488 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
More changes to ICTOP10
The only major move in the Junior Market ICTOP10 listing, this week was a fall of 8 percent for Tropical Battery, while in the Main Market, Carreras rose 6 percent followed by Caribbean Producers with 5 percent, both dropped out of the TOP10, while Guardian Holdings and 138 Student Living both lost 5 percent for the week. The week’s movements resulted in no change to the ICTOP10 Junior Market stocks but Transjamaican Highway and Jamaica Broilers return to the list.
BuyRated stocks from the long-ago past
The Junior Market index closed up to 4,052.19 points, ahead of the 4,031 close of the previous week, helped by the strong gains in the two newly listed companies; JFP limited and EducFocal that jumped sharply during the week, with the former topping out at $2 to close the week up by 36 percent at $1.36, with a PE of 19 times projected 2022 earnings, while the latter jumped to $3.07 for an incredible gain of 207 percent with a PE of 38 based on projected earnings of 8 cents for 2022. Meanwhile, the Main Market continues to consolidate at a support level of around 440,000 points using the All Jamaica Composite Index, but the market drifted down below that level in the latter part of the week as NCB Financial dropped to a multi-year low of $91.01 on Wednesday, with little demand for the stock currently, but it may find support around the $105 level.
The Junior Market potential gains for the TOP 10 Junior Market stocks stand at 109 percent, much lower than the Main Market at 137 percent, an indication that Main Market is greatly undervalued. The top three stocks in the Junior Market are Elite Diagnostic, Medical Disposables followed by AMG Packaging, to gain between 122 and 133 percent.
The potential gains for Main Market stocks moved from 127 percent last week to this weeks’ 137 percent, with the top three being Guardian Holdings, JMMB Group followed by Sygnus Credit Investments all projected to gain between 169 and 198 percent versus 168 to 193 percent last week.
The average PE for Junior Market is well ahead of the average of 17 times 2020 earnings achieved at the end of March last year in moving to 21.8 based on ICInsider.com’s 2021-22 earnings, pushed up mainly by five stocks, with EduFocal and Main Event over 100 times 2021 earnings. Excluding the 5 highest PE ratios over 40, the average would be around 18. The JSE Main and USD Markets at 15.8 is well off from 19 in 2021. The TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of a mere 8.6, with a 45 percent discount to that market’s average.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market is 20 percent less than the PE of 19 at the end of March and 24 percent below the target of 20 to the end of March this year. The Main Market TOP 10 average PE is 8.6 representing a 45 percent discount to the market, well below the potential of 20. 
The depressed PE of the main market is an indication that bigger investors are reluctant to be aggressive in buying into the market currently, with inflation, rising interest rates and war populating the headlines.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list may or may not include the best companies in the market. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings to highlight winners from the rest, allowing investors to focus on potential winning stocks and helping to remove emotional attachments to stocks that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2022 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on the possible increase for each company, considering the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in weekly movements in and out of the lists. 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.
EduFocal jumps, JFP drops 32% from peak
EduFocal rallied 75 cents to end at $3.07, with a gain of 207 percent over the IPO price and since listing on the Junior Market on Tuesday. Trading closed with strong demand for above $3 per share. The price movement on Friday helped to push the Market Index up a strong 76.48 points to close at 4,052.19, as the same time, JFP that listed on Monday fell 32 percent from its peak of $2.
A total of 42 securities were traded on Friday, similar to Thursday. At the close, 18 gained, 17 declined and seven ended unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a measure used to compute appropriate stock values, averages 21.8. The PE ratio of each stock in the chart below is based on ICInsider.com earnings forecast for companies with financial years up to August 2022.
The overall volume of stocks traded slipped 22 percent with the value down moderately from Thursday. Overall, 29,255,984 shares traded for $82,401,537 compared to 37,553,313 units at $87,439,082 on the Thursday. EduFocal led trading with 11.18 million shares for 38.2 percent of total volume, followed by JFP Limited with 9.68 million units taking 33.1 percent of the day’s trade, Tropical Battery cornered 2.07 million units, with 7.1 percent market share and Future Energy Source ended with 1.97 million units for 6.7 percent market share.
Trading averaged 696,571 shares at $1,961,941 down from 894,127 shares at $2,081,883 on Thursday and month to date an average of 572,569 units at $2,182,126 compared to 562,132 units at $2,200,659 on the previous day. February closed with an average of 370,064 units at $1,402,517.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial fell 20 cents in closing at $20.80 while exchanging 7,532 shares, Cargo Handlers gained 49 cents to close at $11.50, 62 with stocks units changing hands, Dolphin Cove shed 15 cents to end at $24 in an exchange of 52,902 stock units. EduFocal rallied 75 cents to end at a record $3.07, with 11,180,753 units crossing the exchange, Express Catering advanced 25 cents ending at $5.25 in switching ownership of 49,975 with 35,634 units changing hands, Iron Rock Insurance rose 8 cents to end at $3.20 in exchanging 3,500 stocks. Jamaican Teas declined 23 cents to $3.37 after an exchange of 296,928 shares, Jetcon Corporation dropped 8 cents to end at 81 cents trading 94,486 units, JFP Limited fell 34 cents to $1.36 after exchanging 9,679,780 stock units. Knutsford Express climbed 10 cents to close at $8 in trading 100 shares, Lasco Distributors popped 10 cents to $3.70 with the swapping of 26,490 units, Lasco Manufacturing climbed 15 cents in closing at $4.50 with 344,003 stocks passing through the exchange. 
Lumber Depot popped 18 cents after ending at $3.63, with 388,982 stock units crossing the market, Mailpac Group rallied 8 cents in closing at $3.08 with an exchange of 205,414 shares, Main Event jumped $2.33 to end at 52 weeks’ high of $8.33 after finishing trading 358,718 stocks. Spur Tree Spices shed 8 cents to $3.60 after 927,861 units crossed the market, Tropical Battery lost 10 cents to close at $2.01 after exchanging 2,066,964 stock units and tTech advanced 34 cents to end at $4.25 and closed with 82,028 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Junior Market slips on Thursday
Trading closed on Thursday, with the volume of stocks traded rising 18 percent with the value increasing 10 percent higher than on Wednesday at the close of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market, which ended with the Market Index declining.
Market activity led to 42 securities trading compared to 43 on Wednesday and ended with 18 rising, 17 declining and seven closing unchanged. At the close, the Junior Market Index shed 27.76 points to close at 3,975.71.
The PE Ratio, a measure used to compute appropriate stock values, averages 21. The PE ratio of each stock in the chart below is based on ICInsider.com earnings forecast for companies with financial years up to August 2022.
Overall, 37,553,313 shares traded for $87,439,082 compared to 31,775,636 units at$ 79,249,482 on Wednesday. JFP Limited led trading with 18.41 million shares for 49 percent of total volume, followed by EduFocal with 9.72 million units for 25.9 percent of the day’s trade. Lumber Depot with 2.28 million units for 6.1 percent market share, Tropical Battery with 1.84 million units for 4.9 percent market share and Caribbean Flavours with 1.28 million units for 3.4 percent market share.
Trading averaged 894,127 shares at $2,081,883 in contrast to 738,968 shares at $1,843,011 on Wednesday and month to date, an average of 562,132 units at $2,200,659, compared to 531,620 units at $2,211,575 previously traded. February closed with an average of 370,064 units at $1,402,517.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial rallied $2.55 to end at $21, with 1,559 shares crossing the market, Blue Power rose 61 cents to $4 while exchanging 22,039 stocks, CAC 2000 rose 36 cents to close at $7.89 in an exchange of 1,462 units. Cargo Handlers climbed $1.87 after ending at $11.01 in trading 16,540 stock units, Dolphin Cove gained $2.15 in closing at $24.15 after exchanging 27,441 units, EduFocal popped 57 cents to end at a record of $2.32 in trading 9,716,123 shares. Express Catering fell 17 cents to close at $5 with an exchange of 10,295 stock units, Fosrich lost 10 cents in ending at $16.85 with 91,159 stocks changing hands, General Accident increased 25 cents to end at $6.15 with 3,000 shares clearing the market. GWest Corporation dropped 13 cents in closing at 94 cents in exchanging 10,206 stocks, Honey Bun advanced 79 cents to close at $9.71 after trading 23,898 stock units, Jamaican Teas popped 12 cents in closing at $3.60 with 262,059 units changing hands. JFP Limited declined 15 cents to $1.70, with 18,409,007 shares crossing the market, Knutsford Express shed 10 cents to end at $7.90 in switching ownership of 3,290 stocks Lasco Distributors fell 19 cents to end at $3.60 after trading 206,064 units. 
Limners and Bards lost 10 cents to $3.38 with an exchange of 263,888 stock units, Lumber Depot rallied 21 cents to end at $3.45 with the swapping of 2,279,622 stock units, Main Event dropped 90 cents to close at $6 in an exchange of 19,214 units and Paramount Trading rose 13 cents in closing at $1.80 in switching ownership of 1,000 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
JFP & EduFocal dominate Junior Market
Trading Newly listed JFP Limited and EduFocal dominated Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Wednesday and rose to record highs in helping the volume of stocks traded to rise 45 percent more than on Tuesday with a 43 increase in value and were the main reason for the market Index to eke out a modest 8.04 points rose to settle at 4,003.47.
Market activity led to 43 securities trading, similar to Tuesday and ended with 15 rising, 19 declining and nine closing unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 20.3. The PE ratios of stocks reported in the chart below are based on ICInsider.com earnings forecast for companies with financial years up to August 2022.
A total of 31,775,636 shares traded for $79,249,482 compared to 21,910,635 units at $55,555,327 on the Tuesday JFP Limited led trading with 20.42 million shares for 64.3 percent of total volume, followed by Lumber Depot with 3.03 million units for 9.5 percent of the day’s trade and EduFocal, 2.15 million units for 6.8 percent market share, while Future Energy Source ended with 1.83 million units changing hands for 5.7 percent market share.
Trading averaged 738,968 shares at $1,843,011 up from 509,550 shares at $1,291,984 on Tuesday, with the month to date, averaging 531,620 units at $2,211,575, compared to 510,084 units at $2,249,855 on the previous day. February closed with an average of 370,064 units at $1,402,517.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows eight stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Access Financial rallied 45 cents to $18.45, with 4,443 shares crossing the market, Blue Power dropped 51 cents in closing at $3.39 with an exchange of 629 stocks, Caribbean Cream popped 5 cents to $4.72 with the swapping of 1,802 stock units. Dolphin Cove lost 90 cents to end at $22 after exchanging 23,157 units. EduFocal gained 43 cents to close at a record high of $1.75 after trading 2,154,085 stocks, Elite Diagnostic shed 6 cents ending at $2.97, with 27,678 units clearing the market. Everything Fresh fell 6 cents to close at $1.15 while exchanging 35,264 stock units, Express Catering advanced 29 cents in closing at $5.17 with 3,549 shares changing hands, Fontana fell 6 cents to $9.72 in trading 58,977 stocks. Fosrich declined 5 cents to end at $16.95 after 46,783 shares crossed the exchange, Future Energy Source dropped 27 cents to $6.02, with 1,827,068 units changing hands, General Accident shed 29 cents to $5.90 in switching ownership of 2,163 stock units. 
Indies Pharma popped 5 cents to end at $3.08 after an exchange of 5,797 units, Jamaican Teas increased 31 cents to close at $3.48 after 456,342 stock units changed hands, Jetcon Corporation lost 6 cents in closing at 83 cents trading 5,279 stocks. JFP Limited rose 17 cents to end at $1.85 with 20,417,992 shares crossing the market, Mailpac Group rallied 5 cents to $3.05 with 569,061 units changing hands, Spur Tree Spices fell 10 cents in closing at $3.70 in an exchange of 863,248 stocks and Tropical Battery dropped 5 cents to $2.13 trading 672,301 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
New listings enjoy big price bounce
In trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Tuesday, newly listed EduFocal moved from its IPO price of $1 to close at $1.32 on the first day of trading, while JFP Limited continued from its opening price on Monday to $1.68 at the close on Tuesday and helped maintained the volume of stocks and the value traded moderately above that on Monday.
Market activity led to 43 securities trading compared to 42 on Monday and ended with 14 rising, 18 declining and 11 closing unchanged.At the close, the Junior Market Index shed 38.05 points to settle at 3,995.43.
The PE Ratio, the most used measure to compute stock values, averages 19.9. The PE ratios in the chart below are based on ICInsider.com earnings forecast for companies with financial years to August 2022.
Overall, 21,910,635 shares traded for $55,555,327 versus 19,487,231 units at $50,742,595 on the Monday. JFP Limited led trading with 13.15 million shares for 60 percent of total volume followed by Lumber Depot with 2.77 million units for 12.6 percent of the day’s trade, Jamaican Teas ended with 2.22 million units for 10.1 percent market share and Future Energy Source ended with 1.44 million units changing hands for 6.6 percent market share.
Trading averaged 509,550 shares at $1,291,984 compared to 463,982 shares at $1,208,157 on Monday and month to date, averaging 510,084 units at $2,249,855, compared to 510,146 units at $2,360,875 on the prior day. February closed with an average of 370,064 units at $1,402,517.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Access Financial dropped $1.51 in closing at $18 after 51,516 shares changed hands, AMG Packaging rose 20 cents to $3.20 while exchanging 3,180 stocks, Cargo Handlers fell $1.50 to end at $9.10, trading 12,219 stock units. Dolphin Cove declined $1.10 to close at $22.90, with 24,692 units crossing the market, EduFocal increased 32 cents to $1.32, with 9,662 shares clearing the market, Everything Fresh popped 11 cents to $1.21, with 366 stocks crossing the market. Express Catering lost 29 cents in closing at $4.88 in exchanging 4,100 units, Fontana advanced 27 cents to close at $9.78, with 14,711 stock units changing hands, Fosrich shed 48 cents to end at $17 with 10,057 units crossing the exchange. 
Honey Bun fell 20 cents to end at $8.90 after exchanging 2,447 stocks, Jamaican Teas dropped 33 cents to close at $3.17 with an exchange of 2,220,989 shares, JFP Limited rallied 37 cents in closing at $1.68 after exchanging 13,153,656 stock units. Lasco Distributors bounced 24 cents to $3.79 in switching ownership of 95,474 units, Lasco Financial declined 10 cents to $3.45 in an exchange of 12,500 shares, Lasco Manufacturing lost 17 cents to end at $4.33 trading 95,149 stock units. Lumber Depot shed 66 cents to close at $3.28 in trading 2,771,346 stocks, Main Event fell 20 cents to $6.90 with the swapping of 21,457 stocks and Paramount Trading shed 12 cents to $1.70 with 30,147 stock units. Changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
JFP gain saves Junior Market on Monday
The price of JFP Limited stock that was a recent Initial Public Offer climbed 31 percent when trading in stock commenced at the start of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Monday and contributed over 53 percent in the overall market volume that jumped 106 percent over trading on Friday.
Market activity led to 42 securities trading compared to 40 on Friday and ended with nine rising, 27 declining and six, ending unchanged, but the Junior Market Index eked out a 1.59 points rise to close at 4,033.48. The PE Ratio, one of the most popular measures to value stocks, averages 19.1 as a multiple of earnings forecasted by ICInsider.com for companies with financial year ends, up to August 2022.
Overall, 19,487,231 shares were traded for $50,742,595 compared to 9,481,171 units at $48,828,789 on the Friday. JFP Limited led trading with 10.19 million shares for 52.3 percent of total volume followed by Tropical Battery with 3.27 million units for 16.8 percent of the day’s trade and Future Energy Source with 2.29 million units for 11.7 percent market share and Spur Tree Spices ended trading 1.14 million units accounting for 5.8 percent market share.
Trading averaged 463,982 shares at $1,208,157 in contrast to 237,029 shares at $1,220,720 on Friday and month to date, an average of 510,146 units at $2,360,875, compared to 516,040 units at $2,508,031 on the prior trading day. February closed with an average of 370,064 units at $1,402,517.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Access Financial dropped $1.74 in ending at $19.51 with 138 shares crossing the market, AMG Packaging lost 20 cents in ending at $3 in exchanging 36,497 stocks, Cargo Handlers shed $1.40 to $10.6 with an exchange of 28,043 units. Caribbean Cream declined 50 cents to close at $4.70, with 12,000 stock units crossing the exchange, Dolphin Cove fell 14 cents to end at $24 after 91,275 units changed hands, Everything Fresh lost 11 cents to end at $1.10 after exchanging 130,801 shares. Express Catering shed 10 cents to close at $5.17, with 23,119 stocks clearing the market, Fontana declined 29 cents to $9.51 in an exchange of 52,394 stock units, Fosrich climbed 97 cents to $17.48, with 21,632 stock units crossing the market. Future Energy Source fell 30 cents in closing at $6.20 in trading 2,288,325 shares, General Accident popped 19 cents to $6.10 while exchanging 23,555 stocks, Honey Bun dropped 13 cents to $9.10 in switching ownership of 85,019 units.
Iron Rock Insurance declined 20 cents in closing at $3.11 and trading 2,215 stocks, ISP Finance advanced $5.86 to close at $32.20 finishing at 119 units changing hands, newly listed JFP Limited gained 31 cents to end at a record high of $1.31 with the exchanging of 10,194,843 stock units. Lasco Manufacturing shed 15 cents in closing at $4.50 after trading 109,808 shares, Spur Tree Spices lost 16 cents to end at $3.75 and closed with an exchange of 1,138,242 units, Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 20 cents to $7 after trading 16,151 stocks and tTech fell 30 cents to $3.95 after 1,500 stock units were traded.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Cargo Handlers exits ICTOP10 with 33% gain
Cargo Handlers returned to ICTOP10 listing last week and was another winner with gains of 33 percent, sufficient to move it out of the top flight Junior Market stocks. The stock joins a long list of high performance ICTOP10 stocks, including the 32 percent gain in Tropical Battery stock in the previous week.
Caribbean Assurance Brokers come back in the Junior Market list, while Sterling Investments makes it back to the Main Market listing at the expense of TransJamacian Highway after just one week, but investors should keep an eye for this one.
In a week when the Junior Market dropped 297 points in three days that pushed the index down to 3,871 points, it bounced on the last two days to close over 4,031, still 137 points from the record of 4,168.16, at the end of the previous week. Meanwhile, the Main Market continues to consolidate around support at 440,000 points measured by the All Jamaica Composite Index.
Recent IPOs JFP limited and EducFocal are set to list on Monday and Tuesday coming following the oversubscribed initial public offers.
During the past week, the Junior Market TOP10 listed Access Financial, Lasco Financial and Iron Rock Insurance gained 6 percent each while Medical Disposables fell 9 percent and Tropical Battery slipped 5 percent. In the Main Market, the primary movers are Guardian Holdings with a 4 percent gain, while JMMB Group fell 7 percent and Proven Investments declined by 5 percent.
The potential gains for the TOP 10 Junior Market stocks remained for a second week at 105 percent, much lower than the Main Market at 127 percent, an indication that the Main Market is undervalued. The top three stocks in the Junior Market are Medical Disposables followed by Elite Diagnostic and Lasco Distributors to gain between 122 and 133 percent, compared to 121 and 126 percent, previously.
The potential gains for Main Market stocks moved from 124 percent last week to this weeks’ 127 percent, with the top three being JMMB Group followed by Guardian Holdings and Sygnus Credit Investments all projected to gain between 168 and 193 percent versus 161 and 193 percent last week.
The average PE for Junior Market has surpassed the average of 17 times 2020 earnings achieved at the end of March last year in moving to 19 based on ICInsider.com’s 2021-22 earnings and is ahead of the JSE Main and USD Markets at 15.7 well off from 19 in 2021. The TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of a mere 9, with a 48 percent discount to that market’s average.
All the stocks in the Junior Market can gain just 5 percent to the end of March this year, based on an average PE of 20. About a third of Junior Market stocks with positive earnings are trading at or above this level, averaging around 23.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market is 21 percent less than the PE of 19 at the end of March and 24 percent below the target of 20 to the end of March this year. The Main Market TOP 10 average PE is 9 representing a 43 percent discount to the market, well below the potential of 20. Around 15 stocks or a thirty percent of the market trade at or above a PE of 19, with most over 20, for an average roundabout 25, suggesting that the accepted multiple is between 20 and 25 times current year’s earnings. The depressed PE of the main market may be indicating that bigger investors are reluctant to be aggressive in buying into the market currently with inflation, rising interest rates and war populating the headlines.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list may or may not include the best companies in the market.
ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings to highlight winners from the rest, allowing investors to focus on potential winning stocks and helping to remove emotional attachments to stocks that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2022 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on the possible increase for each company, considering the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in weekly movements in and out of the lists. 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.
Junior Market making spirited recovery
The Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market made more recovery from the near 300 points loss up to Wednesday as it closed on Friday, with the Market Index jumping 90.51 points to 4,031.89 after picking up 70 points on Thursday as the volume of stocks traded declining 63 percent and the value dropped 52 percent than Thursday.
At the close 40 securities traded compared to 42 on Thursday ended with 18 rising, 14 declining and eight closing unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a measure used to compute appropriate stock values, averages 19. The PE ratio of stocks in the chart below is computed based on the ICInsider.com earnings forecast for companies with financial years up to August 2022.
Overall, 9,481,171 shares traded for $48,828,789 compared to 25,403,714 units at $100,810,194 on the Thursday Future Energy Source led trading with 4.74 million shares for 50 percent of total volume followed by Spur Tree Spices with 940,637 units for 9.9 percent of the day’s trade and Jamaican Teas with 845,015 units for 8.9 percent market share.
Trading averaged 237,029 shares at $1,220,720 in contrast to 604,850 shares at $2,400,243 on Thursday and month to date, averaging 516,040 units at $2,508,031, compared to 554,657 units at $2,686,206 on the previous day. February closed with an average of 370,064 units at $1,402,517.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ended with the bid higher than the last selling price and four stocks with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging popped 14 cents in closing at $3.20, with 68,829 shares clearing the market, CAC 2000 fell 37 cents to end at $7.53 while exchanging 47,545 stock units, Cargo Handlers declined 10 cents to close at $12 with an exchange of 3,805 units. Caribbean Cream climbed 43 cents after ending at $5.20 in trading 887 stocks, Derrimon Trading gained 18 cents to $2.70 in exchanging 210,647 stocks, Dolphin Cove increased $1.14 to $24.14, with 29,367 shares crossing the exchange. Fontana lost 20 cents in closing at $9.80, with 50,347 stock units changing hands, Fosrich advanced 51 cents to end at $16.51 after exchanging 16,473 units, General Accident dropped 29 cents to close at $5.91 after finishing trading of 22,175 units. Honey Bun rallied 33 cents to $9.23 in an exchange of 9,467 shares, Indies Pharma rose 10 cents to $3.10 in trading 3,629 stocks, Knutsford Express climbed 10 cents in closing at $8, with an exchange of 15,855 stock units. 
Lasco Distributors advanced 12 cents to close at $3.60 after exchanging 1,002 units, Lasco Manufacturing gained 32 cents in ending at $4.65, with 336,334 shares crossing the market, Lumber Depot increased 10 cents to end at $4 with the swapping of 321,125 stock units and Mailpac Group shed 12 cents in ending at $2.92 trading 281,628 stocks.
In the preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% preference share popped 10 cents to end at $1.07 in switching ownership of 975 stocks.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Junior Market claws some recent losses
Trading on the Junior Market surged on Thursday, with the market Index jumping 70.26 points to 3,941.38 at the close almost wiping out the 76 percent loss on Wednesday as the volume of stocks traded jumped 64 percent above Wednesday’s level, with 59 percent more funds entering the market than the prior day.
A total of 42 securities traded on Thursday versus 40 on Wednesday and ended with 25 rising, 13 declining and four closing unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing stock values, averages 18.9. The PE ratio of each stock in the chart below is based on ICInsider.com earnings forecast for companies with financial years up to August 2022.
Overall, 25,403,714 shares traded for $100,810,194 compared to 15,506,157 units at $63,400,100 on the Wednesday. Future Energy Source led trading with 6.15 million shares for 24.2 percent of total volume, followed by Indies Pharma with 5.05 million units for 19.9 percent of the day’s trade and Tropical Battery with 3.27 million units for 12.9 percent market share, Lumber Depot with 2.22 million units for 8.7 percent market share, 
Spur Tree Spices traded 1.95 million units for 7.7 percent market share and Blue Power exchanged 1.45 million units for 5.7 percent market share.
Trading on Thursday averaged 604,850 shares at $2,400,243 up from 387,654 shares at $1,585,002 on Wednesday, with month to date, averaging 554,657 units at $2,686,206, versus 546,122 units at $2,734,831 on the preceding day. February closed with an average of 370,064 units at $1,402,517.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ended with the bid higher than the last selling price and three stocks with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial rallied $1.55 to $21.25 with an exchange of 263 shares, AMG Packaging dropped 12 cents to end at $3.06, with 13,172 stock units clearing the market, Cargo Handlers rose $2.17 in closing at a 52 weeks’ high of $12.10 after trading 26,969 units. Dolphin Cove lost 50 cents to close at $23, with 105,931 stocks changing hands, Express Catering gained 12 cents in ending at $5.27 after exchanging 141,019 stock units, Fontana climbed 20 cents in closing at $10 after 156,915 stocks changed hands. Fosrich advanced $1 to close at $16 with the swapping of 114,600 shares, Future Energy Source increased $1.13 to $6.41, with 6,153,347 units crossing the market, General Accident popped 10 cents to end at $6.20 trading 20 stock units. 
Honey Bun rallied 14 cents to $8.90 in trading 14,224 units,Indies Pharma shed 18 cents in closing at $3 in switching ownership of 5,049,965 stocks, Iron Rock Insurance rose 21 cents to close at $3.31 after 290 shares crossed the exchange. ISP Finance gained $1.34 to end at $26.34 after exchanging 200 shares, Jamaican Teas declined 19 cents to end at $3.50 while exchanging 211,656 stock units, Knutsford Express fell 10 cents to $7.90 after trading 9,694 stocks. Limners and Bards fell 14 cents to $3.44 after 10,795 units crossed the market, Main Event advanced 10 cents to $7.20 in an exchange of 107,369 stocks and tTech climbed 24 cents after ending at $4.25 with the swapping of 241 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
