The IC Insider.com TOP 10 stocks have put substantial gains since the posting at the end of March. The selections based on projected 2020/21 earnings, included robust increases of 73 percent from Elite Diagnostic, followed by Lasco Manufacturing with a gain of 56 percent and Access Financial 55 percent.
Elite Diagnostics surged 73% on the Junior Market since the end of March.
Other outstanding Junior Market gains came from Caribbean Producers that enjoyed a rise of 33 percent in closing at $3 but traded up to $3.51 on Thursday, with an increase of 56 percent since the end of March. KLE Group rose 36 percent and Lasco Financial ended with a 30 percent increase. In the Main Market, Eppley leads with a 45 percent gain, Wisynco Group rose 43 percent and Radio Jamaica 24 percent.
The gains came from a strong recovery of stock prices on the Jamaica Stock Exchange after falling by record levels in March.
Following the rise in prices of TOP 10 stocks, there are five new entrants for the coming week. These are General Accident, CAC 2000 and Stationery and Office Supplies in the Junior Market and in the Main Market, Sygnus Credit Investments and Caribbean Cement.
Stocks that dropped from the TOP 10 are Access Financial, Elite Diagnostic and Medical Disposables from the Junior Market and Eppley and Wisynco Group from the Main Market.
The current IC Insider.com TOP 10 list is based on the profit of companies reporting full year’s results for the financial year ending after 2020 second quarter and up to the second quarter in 2021.
Many local stocks made a strong recovery over the past two weeks, but major uncertainties still exist and it is not possible to determine the exact impact on company earnings. Actual earnings could vary materially from IC Insider.com’s forecast. Looking beyond the immediate fallout or benefits can provide a useful investment guide for above-average gains in the months ahead.
The three top Junior Market selections are Caribbean Producers, KLE Group and Lasco Financial with the potential to gain between 270 to 533 percent by 2021. In the Main Market, Berger Paints leads the pact followed by Radio Jamaica and then Carreras with projected gains of 146 to 170 percent.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 13.3 and the Junior Market a mere 9.7, based on current 2020/21 earnings. The PE ratio for Junior Market Top 10 stocks averages a just 5.7 with the Main Market at 8.8.
The TOP 10 stocks now trade at a discount of 41 percent of the average for Junior Market and Main Market stocks trade at a discount of 34 percent to the overall market. The average projected gain for the IC TOP 10 stocks is 278 percent from 312 percent last week and down from 377 percent at the close of the prior week for the 
Junior Market and 139 percent from 153 percent last week for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020/21 earnings.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns to March 2021. Forecasted earnings and PE ratio for the current fiscal year are in determining potential gains. The ranking of stocks is in order of likely increases, with the highest-ranked, being the most attractive. 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. Earnings per share are revised on an ongoing basis as new information is received that can result in changes in and out of the list.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.
At the close of the market, Blue Power exchanged 25,109 shares after rising 15 cents to end at $4.33, Caribbean Assurance Brokers traded 20,300 shares and rose 28 cents to close at $2.19, Caribbean Cream dipped 24 cents in swapping 9,542 units at $2.50. Caribbean Producers closed trading of 510,860 units and gained 20 cents to end at $2.90, Consolidated Bakeries added 7 cents to end at $1.79 with 102,400 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove closed trading of 8,821 units and gained 3 cents to settle at $7.80, Elite Diagnostic shed 2 cents in trading of 42,386 units at $4.97. Everything Fresh ended at 95 cents after shedding1 cent and exchanging 10,191 shares, Express Catering jumped 50 cents and traded 25,350 shares at $3.70, Fontana closed 35 cents higher at $6.35 with 1,555,291 units changing hands. Fosrich gained14 cents and exchanged 1,250 shares at $3.49, General Accident declined by 46 cents to settle at $5.20 with 12,000 units traded, GWest Corporation ended with a loss of 1 cent at 89cents with 1,800 stock units changing hands. iCreate dipped 2 cents in trading 24,065 units at 56 cents, Indies Pharma closed trading of 61,924 units and gained 8 cents to end at $2.88, Iron Rock Insurance fell 1 cent to $2.99 with 9,500 stock units crossing the exchange. Jamaican Teas closed trading of 371,802 units and added 1 cent to finish at $4, KLE Group climbed 25 cents after exchanging 3,000 shares at $1.70, Knutsford Express dipped 15 cents to $9 with 3,332 units traded. 
Lasco Financial ended with a loss of 1 cent at $3.24 with 45,675 stock units changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing closed 3 cents higher at $4.23, with 228,919 shares trading, Limners and Bards shed 5 cents in trading of 16,950 units at $2.11. Lumber Depot fell 3 cents in trading of 235,061 units at $1.20, Medical Disposables climbed 12 cents and exchanged 5,849 shares at $7.50, Paramount Trading exchanged 28,788 units and gained 19 cents to end at $2.24. SSL Venture slipped 7 cents to 98 cents in the trading 1,450 shares, Stationery and Office Supplies lost 15 cents swapping 16,100 units to settle at $7 and tTech closed 75 cents higher at $4.25, with 500 stock units crossing the exchange.
At the close of the market, Caribbean Assurance Brokers exchanged 26,087 shares and climbed 23 cents to close at $2.17, Caribbean Cream finished 1 cent higher at $2.82 with 5,350 units changing hands, Caribbean Producers swapped 696,817 shares, after slipping 10 cents to end at $2.40. Consolidated Bakeries shed 20 cents exchanging 12,701 stock units at $1.45, Dolphin Cove added 1 cent to close at $7.80 with 1,000 shares crossing the exchange, Elite Diagnostic traded 98,336 shares, after rising 41 cents to end at $4.51. Everything Fresh closed 5 cents higher at 95 cents, with 353,495 stock units changing hands, Express Catering gained 13 cents in trading of 256,472 units at $3.13, Fontana closed trading of 571,861 units and jumped 40 cents to end at $6.30. FosRich picked up 5 cents in exchanging 13,178 shares at $3.40, GWest finished 10 cents higher at 90 cents with an exchange of 10,000 units, Honey Bun gained 50 cents after trading 513,160 shares to settle at $6.50. iCreate finished 8 cents higher at 58 cents with the transfer of 737,372 stock units, Indies Pharma closed trading of 129,871 units and lost 1 cent to end at $2.89, ISP Finance fell 10 cents to $15.90 with the trading of a mere 6 units. Jetcon Corporation exchanged 19,078 shares and added 3 cents to close at $1.02, Key Insurance closed 50 cents higher at $3.50, with 170,430 stock units trading, Lasco Distributors climbed 4 cents to settle at $2.99 in trading 182,893.
Lasco Financial closed trading of 71,211 units and slipped 1 cent to end at $3.23, Lasco Manufacturing dropped 14 cents to $3.51, with 80,623 stock units trading, Limners and Bards closed at $2.10, having lost 10 cents with 6,000 units changing hands. Lumber Depot gained 8 cents to end at $1.13, with 1,697,016 shares changing hands, MailPac gained 10 cents in exchanging a volume leading 2,056,859 shares to close at $1.70, Medical Disposables slipped 28 cents to settle at $7.96 with 34,418 shares changing hands. Paramount Trading exchanged 12,688 shares to close at $2.20 after rising 5 cents, Stationery and Office Supplies fell 99 cents to $6.01 with 50,500 shares traded and tTech closed 75 cents lower at $3.50, with 42,063 stock units crossing the exchange.
Thursday gains reduced the market losses for the year, from a high of 39.3 percent in March to 26.5 percent presently. At the close of market activities, prices of 16 securities advanced, eight declined and ten remained unchanged with 34 securities changing hands. Trading resulted in an exchange of 13,283,703 units for $24,888,541 compared to 7,297,716 units at $17,298,654 on Wednesday. The average PE ratio of the Junior Market ended at 9.1 based on 2020/21 earnings.
Caribbean Assurance Brokers rose 1 cent in trading 196,792 shares to close at $2.01, Caribbean Flavours shed 50 cents trading of 139 units at $10, Consolidated Bakeries ended with an exchange of 10,000 shares, after rising 6 cents to end at $1.38. Derrimon Trading closed 7 cents higher at $1.90, exchanging 10,100 stock units, Elite Diagnostic climbed 57 cents and closed at $3.87, with 27,924 stock units changing hands, Everything Fresh ended trading with 6,009 shares, after rising 19 cents to end at 84 cents. Fontana gained 20 cents to end at $5.50 with 163,657 shares crossing the exchange, Fosrich traded of 6,000 shares, after rising 32 cents to end at $2.90, General Accident ended with a loss of 1 cent at $5.71 with 2,100 stock units changing hands. Indies Pharma ended market activity after 22,547 shares changed hands to close at $2.40 after falling 5 cents. Iron Rock Insurance closed 50 cents higher at $3, trading 18,308 stock units, Jetcon Corporation fell 11 cents in trading of 187,000 units at 99 cents, Knutsford Express closed with 5,874 shares crossing the market after rising 55 cents to end at $9.20. Lasco Distributors close with a loss of 2 cents at $2.98, swapping of 26,344 shares, Lasco Financial closed with 5,700 units crossing the market to gain 22 cents and end at $3.22, Lasco Manufacturing ended 10 cents higher at $3.60, in trading 80,700 stock units. 
Limners and Bards climbed 28 cents and exchanged 61,233 shares at $2.18, Lumber Depot added 1 cent and swapped 3,106,285 shares at $1.20, MailPac rose 14 cents in trading 8,397,683 shares to close at $1.90. Main Event closed 90 cents higher at $5, with 9,729 stock units trading, Medical Disposables ended with a loss of 5 cents at $6.50, after swapping 157,053 shares. Paramount Trading closed 8 cents higher at $1.98, with 85,812 stock units trading, SSL Venture fell 19 cents in trading of 1,000 units to close at a 52 weeks’ low of 85 cents and Stationery and Office Supplies closed with a loss of 11 cents at $6.89 after 7,200 shares changed hands.
At the close of trading for March, the Junior Market Index climbed 51.34 points to 2,304.14 to claw back 210 points in the last three days of the massive 818 points loss the market suffered on March 26. At the end of the month, the market shed 31 percent for the year to date after declining 21 percent for the month.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
Indies Pharma closed 45 cents higher at $2.45, with 170,125 stock units changing hands, Iron Rock Insurance lost 45 cents in trading 10,658 shares to close at $3. KLE Group picked up 20 cents and exchanged just 880 shares at $1.45, Knutsford Express closed trading of a mere two units and gained 65 cents to end at $8.65. Lasco Financial closed trading of 98,998 units with gains of 40 cents to close at $2.95, Lasco Manufacturing closed trading of 119,295 units, after picking up 28 cents to finish at $3.18. Limners and Bards rose 22 cents and exchanged 131,091 shares at $2.28, Lumber Depot closed 3 cents higher at $1.18, with 21,273 stock units trading. MailPac traded 1,469,821 shares, after rising 9 cents to end at $1.69, Main Event gained 1 cent to close at $4.52, after 700 shares crossed the exchange, Paramount Trading declined by 4 cents to settle at $1.94, with 249 units changing hands.
Major uncertainties abound about the local and global economy and how each company may be affected. It is not possible to determine the exact fall out from the crisis and the impact on company earnings. Accordingly, actual earnings could vary materially from IC Insider.com’s forecast. In this regard, investors need to be alert to new information that will come to the fore on an ongoing basis and be prepared to adjust their investment decisions as time passes.
The Jamaica stock market suffered sustained pressure during March, leading to one of the most rapid falls in stock prices in the history of the market. In the past week, prices have bounced with the Main Market putting in strong gains on Thursday and Friday, but the market index is down by a sizeable 29.5 percent year to date.
The current year has changed markedly as the Corona Virus impact on countries worldwide has been significantly disruptive, inflicting significant damage to the individuals, businesses and economies. With the wipeout of fiscal deficits and debt to GDP set to be below 90 percent, the Jamaican economy is in a far better place than at the time of the 2008 crisis that severely tested the country and led to many measures that severely affected the economy from then until 2016.
The Group consists of Caribbean Producers, Dolphin Cove, Everything Fresh and Express Catering. Entertainment company Main Event and restaurant operator KLE Group will be hurt from patrons staying home as well as fewer tourists visiting Montego Bay and patronizing the restaurant in that town. Some major contributors to the tourism market are Grace, Jamaica Broilers and Wisynco. The results for some companies are hit by falling stock and bond prices. The results for the 2020 first quarter will show the impact of the recent market decline. The latter includes JMMB Group, Proven, NCB Financial Group, Barita Investments, VMBS Investments, Jamaican Teas, QWI Investments and Sagicor Group. Banks may have to increase loan loss provisions as businesses encounter cash flow problems and defaulting on loan payments.
The Junior Market Index advanced by 50.32 points to close at 2,144.08 after an exchange of 3,982,260 units accounting for $9,382,200 compared to 4,329,260 units valued at $9,680,619 on Thursday.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging declined 14 cents in trading of 23,450 units at $1.51, CAC 2000 ended market activity exchanging 3,000 shares to close at $10 after falling $1.40, Caribbean Cream ended trading with 15,433 shares, after rising 65 cents to end at $2.76. Caribbean Flavours ended with a loss of $1 at a 52 weeks’ low of $9 with 1,106 stock units changing hands, Caribbean Producers declined 25 cents in trading 98,606 units at $2.25, Elite Diagnostic climbed 15 cents and exchanged 57,904 shares at $2.75. Everything Fresh closed with a loss of 3 cents at 57 cents in swapping 10,000 shares, Express Catering ended trading with 69,873 shares, after rising 10 cents to end at $3. Fontana closed 20 cents higher at $4.45, with 189,405 stock units changing hands. Fosrich closed 25 cents higher at $2.50, in trading 1,000 stock units, General Accident declined by 5 cents to settle at $4.50 trading 44,789 shares, GWest Corporation closed 13 cents higher at 85 cents, with 9,824 stock units changing hands. Honey Bun ended trading 32,000 shares, after rising 20 cents to close at $5.90, iCreate ended with 19,557 shares crossing the exchange, after rising 5 cents to end at 50 cents. Indies Pharma climbed 47 cents and exchanged 370,612 shares at $1.97, Iron Rock Insurance climbed 45 cents to $3.45, in swapping 1,000 units, ISP Finance lost $1 to close at $13 with 5,000 stock units changing hands. 
Jamaican Teas gained 6 cents and exchanged 16,160 shares at $3.99, Knutsford Express gained $1 to end at $7, with 1,740 stock units trading. KLE Group closed trading of 1,000 units and gained 4 cents to end at $1.25, Lasco Distributors added 10 cents in exchanging 537 shares at $3, Lasco Manufacturing lost 90 cents in trading of 1,457,018 units at $2.75. Lumber Depot rose 1 cent, transferring 787,765 shares at $1.21, MailPac closed trading of 451,161 units and gained 9 cents to end at $1.50, Main Event jumped 65 cents and closed at $4.50 after transferring 27,477 units. Medical Disposables climbed 80 cents and exchanged 14,650 shares at $6.50, Stationery and Office Supplies traded 2,112 shares, after rising 20 cents to end at $6 and tTech closed 75 cents higher at $4.25, with 50,000 stock units changing hands.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
Key Insurance ended with a loss of 1 cent at 2 with 80,000 stock units changing hands, KLE Group closed with 47,367 shares, changing hands after rising 1 cent to end at $1.21, Knutsford Express ended with a loss of $1 to finish at $6 with 3,211 stock units changing hands. Lasco Distributors shed 10 cents in trading of 30,601 units at $2.90, Lasco Financial climbed 5 cents and exchanged 344,486 shares at $2.55, Lasco Manufacturing rose 15 cents and transferred 40,200 shares at $3.65. Limners and Bards lost 5 cents in trading 209,671 shares to close at $1.80, Lumber Depot closed 5 cents higher at $1.20, with 1,302,525 stock units trading, MailPac ended with 402,140 shares crossing the exchange, after rising 4 cents to end at $1.41. Main Event declined by 65 cents in trading of 69,210 units at $3.85, Medical Disposables ended market activity exchanging 72,841 shares to close at $5.70 after falling 40cents, Paramount Trading closed 8 cents higher at $1.98, with 4,000 stock units trading. Stationery and Office Supplies picked up 30 cents and exchanged 6,782 shares at $5.80 and tTech ended market activity trading 5,000 shares to close at $3.50 after falling 20 cents.
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended on Tuesday with the market Index diving 52.80 points to close at 2,100.86, down 37 percent for the year as 33 securities changed hands, with prices of nine securities rising, 15 falling and nine remaining unchanged.
Caribbean Cream exchanged 20,000 stock units and gained 1 cent to end at $2.11, Caribbean Flavours fell 50 cents in trading of 600 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $10. Caribbean Producers declined 10 cents to settle at $3, with 10,000 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove traded 14,156 shares and fell 50 cents to close $6.50, Elite Diagnostic dropped 39 cents in trading of 95,816 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.71. Fosrich ended market activity in exchanging 63,565 shares to close at $2.50 after falling 45 cents, Fontana shed 20 cents in trading of 385,577 units at $4, General Accident dropped 90 cents to settle at $4.10 after exchanging 181,000 stock units and trading at an intraday 52 weeks’ low of $3.89. Indies Pharma closed 5 cents higher at $1.55, with 28,655 stock units trading, Jamaican Teas lost 30 cents in trading 105,774 shares to close at $3.70, Jetcon Corporation dipped 10 cents with 205,925 units changing hands at $1, Knutsford Express declined 25 cents in trading of 79 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $7. KLE Group shed 40 cents in trading of 957 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.20, Lasco Distributors closed 32 cents higher at $2.92, with 25,111 stock units changing hands, 
Lasco Financial closed 29 cents higher at $2.85, with 24,070 stock units trading. Lasco Manufacturing exchanged 39,019 units and gained 64 cents to end at $3.50, Limners and Bards rose 18 cents to end at $1.88 and closed with 137,535 units crossing the exchange, Lumber Depot closed with a loss of 21 cents at 52 weeks’ low of $1.04, swapping of 356,449 shares. MailPac closed trading of 92,679 units and gained 8 cents to end at $1.39. Medical Disposables declined by 50 cents to settle at $5.70, after exchanging 60,381 stock units, Paramount Trading lost 10 cents in trading 34,500 shares to close at 1.90 cents, Stationery and Office Supplies traded 12,974 shares and gained 50 cents to end at $6.50 and tTech declined 20 cents in trading of 1,000,620 units at a 52 weeks’ low of $3.50.
Market activities resulted in an exchange of 3,024,296 units valued at just $6,277,143 compared to 3,640,594 units valued at $10,061,535 on Friday. The average market PE ratio ended at ten times, 2019 earnings.
Cargo Handlers fell 40 cents trading 842 stock units to close at $5.10, Caribbean Assurance declined 1 cent to end at $1.94 with 188,778 units traded, Caribbean Cream closed with a loss of 65 cents at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.10 in the swapping of 100,000 shares. Caribbean Producers dropped 15 cents to settle at $3.10 as 11,008 units changed hands, Consolidated Bakeries ended 4 cents higher at $1.30 with 54,386 stock units crossing the exchange, Elite Diagnostic dropped 40 cents in trading of 93,115 units at $3.10. Express Catering finished with a loss of 60 cents at $3.20 with an exchange of 66,107 shares, Fontana ended trading with 230,426 units, after rising 20 cents to end at $4.20, Fosrich closed trading of 115,510 units and gained 55 cents to end at $2.95. General Accident closed 13 cents higher at $5, with 3,101 stock units trading, GWest Corporation declined 9 cents in trading of 106,669 units at 70 cents, iCreate closed with a loss of 2 cents at 45 cents after swapping 435,204 shares. Indies Pharma lost 45 cents in trading 117,958 shares to settle at a 52 weeks’ low of $1.50, Jamaican Teas closed with a loss of 15 cents at $4 swapping 37,073 shares, Jetcon Corporation ended market activity exchanging 10,100 shares to close at $1.10 after slipping 2 cents. Knutsford Express fell 25 cents to $7.25 with 1,300 shares traded, Lasco Distributors concluded trading of 9,994 units and gained 20 cents to finish at $2.60, Lasco Financial closed 6 cents higher at $2.56 with 78,306 units traded. 
Lasco Manufacturing rose 4 cents after exchanging 136,184 shares at $2.86, Limners and Bards ended trading with 42,154 shares, after rising 10 cents to close at $1.70, Lumber Depot exchanging 429,151 shares and lost 3 cents to close at $1.25. MailPac fell 9 cents to $1.31 with 478,451 units traded, Main Event declined by 39 cents to settle at $3.81 with 8,332 shares changing hands, Medical Disposables closed trading of 1,889 units and gained 50 cents to end at $6.20. Paramount Trading gained 30 cents and exchanged 4,956 units to end at $2, SSL Venture closed at $1 after falling 10 cents and swapping 10,543 shares and tTech declined by 55 cents to $3.70 with 1,660 stock units crossing the exchange.