The volume of stocks traded on Wednesday rose moderately but with a 35 percent greater value than Tuesday at the close of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market, with declining stocks continuing to dominate trading.
Forty securities were exchanged versus 41 on Tuesday and ended with 15 rising, 21 declining and four closing unchanged. The Junior Market Index dropped 32.16 points to the close at 4,105.69.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 12.4. PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial year end between November and August 2023.
A total of 8,258,271 shares traded for $40,111,273, up from 7,596,593 units at $29,795,186 on Tuesday. Trading averaged 206,457 shares at $1,002,782 in contrast to 185,283 shares at $726,712 on Tuesday with month to date, averaging 234,262 units at $911,555 compared to 239,768 units at $893,491 on the previous trading day. May closed with an average of 376,907 units at $1,638,631.
Elite Diagnostic led trading with 2.56 million shares for 31 percent of total volume, followed by Cargo Handlers with 1.12 million units for 13.5 percent of the day’s trade and Future Energy Source with 646,783 units for 7.8 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Blue Power lost 10 cents to end at $3.70 with the swapping of 1,637 shares, Caribbean Assurance Brokers increased 24 cents in closing at $2.36 with an exchange of 8,900 stocks, Consolidated Bakeries popped 9 cents to end at $1.29 while exchanging 517 units. Dolphin Cove shed $1.54 in ending at $15.25 after trading 111,570 stock units, EduFocal declined 13 cents to close at $2.85, with 66,225 stocks crossing the market, Elite Diagnostic dropped 24 cents to end at $3.40, with 2,559,627 units changing hands. Everything Fresh rose 27 cents in closing at $1.42 after trading 139,303 stock units, Express Catering rallied 14 cents to $5.74 in an exchange of 34,826 shares, Fontana fell 22 cents to $9.61, with 61,180 stock units crossing the exchange. Fosrich dropped $1.69 to close at $26.30 in exchanging 70,067 units, Future Energy Source declined 8 cents in ending at $6.01 after trading 646,783 stocks, Honey Bun fell 40 cents to $8.50 with 9,178 shares changing hands. Indies Pharma gained 8 cents to end at $3.08 in switching ownership of 202 stock units, Iron Rock Insurance fell 22 cents to close at $3.08 after exchanging 2,000 units, Jetcon Corporation shed 7 cents in closing at $1.20 trading 184,180 shares. JFP Limited dropped 13 cents after ending at $1.32 with 442,535 stocks clearing the market, Lasco Distributors advanced 10 cents to $3.30, with 25,481 shares changing hands, Lasco Financial lost 8 cents to close at $3.40 after exchanging 53,923 stock units. 
Mailpac Group climbed 9 cents to end at $2.79 while exchanging 430,010 units, Medical Disposables declined 11 cents to $7 and closed with 55,943 stocks changing hands, Paramount Trading advanced 26 cents to $2.02, trading 1,380 stock units. Spur Tree Spices fell 7 cents to $3.73 in exchanging 466,408 stocks and Stationery and Office Supplies shed 95 cents to end at $10.10 in an exchange of 271 shares.
In the preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% preference share lost 14 cents to close at $1.01 in exchanging a mere one unit.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Big fall for Junior Market
The Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market suffered another big blow on Tuesday, with investors slashing 84.36 points off the market Index to 4,137.85 after dropping 40.93 points. Trading closed with nearly twice as many stocks falling as rising as the volume traded climbed 34 percent above Monday’s level, with a 13 higher value.
A total of 41 securities traded versus 38 on Monday ended with 12 rising, 22 declining and seven closing unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a measure for computing appropriate stock values, averages 12.9. The PE ratio of Junior Market stocks incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial years, that fall between November this year and August 2023.
A total of 7,596,593 shares traded for $29,795,186 up from 5,671,131 units at $26,380,670 on the Monday. Trading averaged 185,283 shares at $726,712 versus 149,240 stock units at $694,228 on Monday, with month to date, averaging 239,768 units at $893,491 compared to 253,643 units at $935,963 on the previous trading day. May closed with an average of 376,907 units at $1,638,631. Jamaican Teas led trading with 1.88 million shares for 24.7 percent of total volume, followed by Lumber Depot with 901,453 units for 11.9 percent of the day’s trade and Tropical Battery with 780,192 units for 10.3 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows eight stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial fell $2.70 to $19.10 while exchanging 1,000 shares, AMG Packaging lost 9 cents to end at $3.50 in swapping 290,148 units, Cargo Handlers declined $1 to close at $11, with 4,725 stock units crossing the market. Caribbean Assurance Brokers shed 30 cents to end at $2.12 in trading 12,097 stocks, Caribbean Flavours dropped 10 cents to $1.88 in an exchange of 4,450 units, Derrimon Trading rallied 10 cents to end at $2.75 in exchanging 44,396 shares. Dolphin Cove gained 63 cents in closing at $16.79 after trading 64,783 stock units, Elite Diagnostic advanced 34 cents to $3.64, with 4,123 stocks crossing the exchange, Everything Fresh dropped 33 cents to close at $1.15 with 14,685 units changing hands. Express Catering shed 25 cents in ending at $5.60 after exchanging 33,964 stocks, Fosrich rose $1.79 in closing at $27.99 after an exchange of 59,479 shares, General Accident increased 15 cents to end at $6 in trading 251,243 stock units. Honey Bun fell 7 cents to $8.90 after exchanging 7,918 shares, iCreate slipped 20 cents to $2.70 with an exchange of 255,561 stock units, Indies Pharma declined 15 cents to close at $3 in switching ownership of 54,000 stocks. Jamaican Teas fell 14 cents to $3, with 1,875,436 units changing hands, JFP Limited shed 8 cents to end at $1.45 with 650,760 units clearing the market, Lasco Distributors lost 29 cents to close at $3.20 after exchanging 24,610 stock units. 
Mailpac Group declined 10 cents in closing at $2.70 after an exchange of 131,395 shares, Medical Disposables rose 11 cents to $7.11 in switching ownership of 33,107 stocks, Spur Tree Spices dropped 9 cents to $3.80 in an exchange of 165,361 units. SSL Venture popped 20 cents to end at $1.85 in exchanging 178,177 stock units and Stationery and Office Supplies dropped $1.25 to $11.05 with the swapping of 8,392 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
One new entry to ICTOP10
Prices of several stocks rebounded this past week as the selloff to fund the Dolla Financial IPO receded, but the changes had little impact on changing stocks in the TOP10, with just one new entrant to the listing.
Following last week’s 330 points fall, the Junior Market index recovered 143 points by the end of the week, while the Main Market All Jamaica Index lost 211 points on top of the 5,954.55 points given up in the previous week.
This week’s market performance resulted in mostly gains for TOP10 stocks. In the Junior Market, Medical Disposables rose 12 percent to $7.85, while Access Financial gained 9 percent to close at $21.80 and Lasco Financial rallied 6 percent to $3.50, following the release of full year results to March, with profit doubling to $306 million for earnings per share of 24 cents. Elite slipped 6 percent in closing at $3.40 and Caribbean Cream fell 5 percent to $4.69.
For the TOP10 Main Market stocks, Productive Business Solutions gained 15 percent to US$1.15, VM Investments rose 13 percent to $5.87, Berger Paints rallied 6 percent to $11.30, followed by QWI Investments up 5 percent to 89 cents. Sygnus Credit Investments declined 5 percent to $14.80 and JMMB Group slipped 4 percent to $44 following the release of full year results.
Jetcon Corporation price dipped to $1.32 and squeezed out General Accident from the Junior Market TOP10.
Medical Disposables reported full year results to March, on Thursday, with profit before tax surging 938 percent to $143 million and profit due to the parent company shareholders before extraordinary gains in 2021 of $62 million, rising to $105 million, from $7.5 million, with revenues up 42 percent over the previous year.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 ends the week at 6.2, well below the market average of 15.1, while the Junior Market PE for the Top 10 is six versus the market at 13.4. The Junior Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 235 percent to May 2023 and the Main Market 228 percent.
Watch these stocks that are sitting just outside the TOP10, the list includes Key Insurance, followed by Caribbean Producers, Scotia Group and Sagicor Group from the Main Market and in the Junior Market, Dolphin Cove, General Accident and Iron Rock Insurance.
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 the end of May 2023 and are 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 are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.
Twice as many Junior stocks fell but index rise
Trading activity rose sharply on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Friday, with the volume of stocks traded increasing 168 percent and the value climbing 93 percent higher than Thursday, but declining stocks beat out rising stocks by more than two to one.
A total of 42 securities traded similar to Thursday and ended with ten rising, 23 declining and nine closing unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index rose 36.48 points to settle at 4,263.14.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 13.4. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial year end that falls between September this year and August 2023.
Overall, 18,614,187 shares traded for $60,183,004 versus 6,943,963 units at $31,114,240 on Thursday. Trading averaged 443,195 shares at $1,432,929 in contrast to 165,332 shares at $740,815 on Thursday with month to date, averaging 285,898 units at $1,010,645 compared to 204,336 units at $791,683 on the previous trading day. May closed with an average of 376,907 units at $1,638,631.
Jamaican Teas led trading with 15.47 million shares for 83.1 percent of total volume, followed by JFP Limited with 368,755 units for 2 percent of the day’s trade and Elite Diagnostic, 342,875 units for 1.8 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ended with a bid higher than the last selling price and three with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial shed 5 cents in closing at $21.80 after 21 shares were exchanged, AMG Packaging dropped 16 cents in ending at $3.51, with 6,643 units crossing the market, Blue Power gained 10 cents to close at $3.80 with the swapping of 667 stocks. CAC 2000 declined 39 cents to $7, with 5,000 stock units crossing the market, Caribbean Assurance Brokers fell 5 cents to end at $2.39 in an exchange of 61,885 shares, Caribbean Flavours lost 7 cents to close at $1.88, with an exchange of 109,959 stock units. Dolphin Cove shed 50 cents in closing at $16.50 after exchanging 121,049 stocks, Express Catering advanced 38 cents in ending at $5.99 with 1,500 units changing hands, Fontana fell 5 cents to end at $9.80 after exchanging 144,487 stocks. Fosrich lost 95 cents to close at $30, with 47,684 stock units clearing the market, Future Energy Source declined 18 cents to $6.05 in exchanging 241,603 shares, Honey Bun increased 70 cents in closing at $8.96 after trading 6,129 units. Indies Pharma dropped 15 cents to $3, with 36,801 stocks changing hands, Jamaican Teas shed 6 cents to close at $3.19, trading 15,472,600 units, Jetcon Corporation dropped 13 cents to end at $1.32, trading 24,007 stock units. 
Lasco Distributors popped 5 cents to $3.49 while exchanging 55,788 shares, Lasco Financial declined 8 cents in closing at $3.50 in switching ownership of 6,443 shares, Medical Disposables rallied 40 cents in ending at $7.85 after 24,822 stock units crossed the exchange. Paramount Trading lost 14 cents to end at $1.76, with 2,750 stocks clearing the market, Spur Tree Spices fell 5 cents to close at $3.90 after an exchange of 52,606 units, Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 22 cents to close at $12.30 in trading 3,047 shares and tTech fell 20 cents to $3.60 after exchanging 2,206 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Junior stocks slip on Thursday
Trading closed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Thursday, with the volume of stocks traded declining 28 percent and the value 6 percent lower than on Wednesday and ended with rising stocks bettering those falling with the market index slipping mildly.
At the close of the market, 42 securities were traded versus 39 on Wednesday and ended with 18 rising, 14 declining and ten closing unchanged. The Junior Market Index lost 11.37 points to settle at 4,226.66.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 13.2. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial year end that falls between September this year and August 2023.
A total of 6,943,963 shares traded for $31,114,240 down from 9,607,258 units at 33,012,055 on Wednesday. Trading averaged 165,332 shares at $740,815, in contrast to 246,340 shares at $846,463 on Wednesday, with the month to date, averaging 204,336 units at $791,683. May closed with an average of 376,907 units at $1,638,631.
JFP Limited led trading with 2.02 million shares for 29.1 percent of total volume, followed by Jamaican Teas with 1.49 million units for 21.5 percent of the day’s trade and Spur Tree Spices with 577,493 units for 8.3 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ending with a bid higher than the last selling price and three with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging climbed 17 cents in closing at $3.67 with an exchange of 28,783 shares, Cargo Handlers rallied $1 to close at $12, with 85,940 stocks crossing the exchange, Caribbean Assurance Brokers rose 22 cents to end at $2.44 after investors cleared the market of just 1,601 stock units. Dolphin Cove fell 90 cents to $17 in switching ownership of 5,289 units, Everything Fresh gained 14 cents in ending at $1.47 after exchanging 9,137 stocks, Fosrich jumped $3.94 to close at $30.95 in trading 318,484 stock units. Honey Bun dropped 73 cents to end at $8.26 as investors exchanged 88,534 units, iCreate fell 35 cents to $2.90 in an exchange of 245,193 shares, KLE Group advanced 15 cents to $2.06 with 1,870 stock units changing hands. Knutsford Express declined 13 cents in closing at $8.50, trading 99 shares, Mailpac Group popped 11 cents in ending at $2.78 while exchanging 13,180 stocks, 
Main Event climbed 35 cents to close at $8.60, trading 29,000 units. Spur Tree Spices shed 10 cents in closing at $3.95 after exchanging 577,493 stocks, SSL Venture declined 19 cents to end at $1.66, with 40 stock units crossing the market and Stationery and Office Supplies advanced $1.08 to $12.08 with the swapping of 56,765 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Junior Market rises on reduced trading
Trading closed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market Wednesday, with the volume of stocks traded just lower than the rising volume on Tuesday with a 39 percent lower value than on Tuesday as just 39 securities traded down from 43 on Tuesday and ended with 13 rising, 19 declining and seven unchanged.
The Junior Market Index rose 34.94 points to 4,238.03, as the market continues to recover from the sell off in the last and the previous week.
The PE Ratio, a tool used to value stocks, averages 13.1 for the Junior Market. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate projected earnings computed by ICInsider.com for companies with financial year end falling between September this year and August 2023.
A total of, 9,607,258 shares traded for $33,012,055 compared to 9,825,896 units at $54,208,669 on the Tuesday. Trading averaged 246,340 shares at $846,463 in contrast to 228,509 shares at $1,260,667 on Tuesday. May closed with an average of 376,907 units at $1,638,631.
JFP Limited led trading with 3.32 million shares for 34.6 percent of total volume, followed by 
Mailpac Group with 1.47 million units for 15.3 percent of the day’s trade and Lumber Depot with 745,196 units for 7.8 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ended with a higher bid than the last selling price and two with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging shed 18 cents to end at $3.50 in trading 152,254 shares, Cargo Handlers lost 70 cents ending at $11 in switching ownership of 75,100 stocks, Dolphin Cove dropped 29 cents in closing at $17.90 after exchanging 15,210 stock units. Express Catering fell 30 cents to close at $5.63 with an exchange of 2,700 units, Honey Bun declined 21 cents to $8.99, with 8,635 stock units crossing the market, iCreate shed 10 cents to close at $3.25, with 58,871 units changing hands. JFP Limited rallied 16 cents in closing at $1.56 following an exchange of 3,319,795 stocks, Knutsford Express popped 63 cents to $8.63 in trading 3,354 shares, Lasco Distributors gained 27 cents ending at $3.44 after exchanging 18,459 stock units. Lasco Financial rose 11 cents to end at $3.59 after 446,269 units changed hands, Lasco Manufacturing advanced 23 cents to close at $5.43 trading 131,117 stocks, Mailpac Group lost 11 cents in closing at $2.67 after 1,470,403 shares crossed the exchange. 
Medical Disposables declined 69 cents to end at $7.50 in exchanging 413,092 units, Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 20 cents to $11, with 66,394 stock units changing hands and tTech increased 30 cents ending at $3.80 with the swapping of 12,993 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
More recovery for Junior Market
Trading closed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Tuesday, with the volume of stocks traded rising 41 percent and the value 88 percent more than Monday as rising stocks outpaced those declining by nearly three to one.
A total of 43 securities trading versus 41 on Monday ending with 24 rising, nine declining and 10 closing unchanged, leading the Junior Market Index to climb 56.75 points and settle at 4,203.09.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 13.4. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate earnings projected by ICInsider.com for companies with financial year that falls between September this year and August 2023.
Overall, 9,825,896 shares traded for $54,208,669 compared to 6,964,198 units at $28,803,554 on the Monday. Trading averaged 228,509 shares at $1,260,667 in contrast to 169,858 shares at $702,526 on Monday with month to date, averaging 376,907 units at $1,638,631 compared to 384,335 units at $1,657,551 on the previous trading day. April closed with an average of 449,923 units at $1,781,786.
Knutsford Express led trading with 3.26 million shares for 33.2 percent of total volume, followed by Spur Tree Spices with 2.74 million units for 27.9 percent of the day’s trade and Future Energy Source with 515,082 units for 5.2 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with a lower offer.
At the close of trading, AMG Packaging increased 18 cents to end at $3.68, with 2,308 shares crossing the exchange, CAC 2000 popped $1.09 in closing at $7.40, with 10 units crossing the market, Cargo Handlers rallied 10 cents to $11.70 in trading 1,000 stock units. Dolphin Cove rose 19 cents to $18.19 in switching ownership of 48,002 stocks, Everything Fresh advanced 13 cents to close at $1.35 after exchanging 55,263 stocks, Express Catering gained 31 cents to close at $5.93 with 5,500 units changing hands. Fosrich climbed $3.50 to end at $27 in exchanging 200,352 shares, iCreate increased 15 cents in ending at $3.35 with the swapping of 188,285 stock units, Indies Pharma advanced 15 cents in closing at $3.15 in an exchange of 442,845 stock units. Iron Rock Insurance popped 22 cents to $3.30 with 3,562 units clearing the market, Jetcon Corporation lost 11 cents to end at $1.39 with an exchange of 251,118 stocks, KLE Group dropped 49 cents to $1.91 after 36,128 shares crossed the market. 
Knutsford Express gained 20 cents in closing at $8, with 3,257,783 units changing hands, Lasco Distributors shed 28 cents to close at $3.17 while exchanging 4,988 stocks, Lasco Financial rose 18 cents to $3.48, trading 103,584 stock units. Stationery and Office Supplies rallied 20 cents to $10.80 after exchanging 13,343 shares and tTech declined 39 cents in closing at $3.50 in trading 5,217 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Junior Market recovery continues
The Junior Market Index continues to rebound from last week’s steep sell-off by climbing 26.29 points to close at 4,146.34 at the close of trading on Monday, with a 51 percent increase in the volume of stocks traded and the value rose 54 percent over trading on Friday.
A total of 41 securities traded up from 35 on Friday and ended with 15 rising, 18 declining and eight left unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a measure in computing stock values, averages 13. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial years closing up to the end of August 2023.
A total of, 6,964,198 shares traded amounting to $28,803,554, up from 4,622,684 units at $18,728,840 on Friday. Trading averaged 169,858 shares at $702,526 in contrast to 132,077 shares at $535,110 on Friday, with the month to date, averaging 384,335 units at $1,657,551 compared to 395,085 units at $1,705,419 on the previous trading day. April closed with an average of 449,923 units at $1,781,786.
Caribbean Assurance Brokers led trading with 1.61 million shares for 23.1 percent of total volume, followed by Future Energy Source with 1.04 million units for 14.9 percent of the day’s trade and Spur Tree Spices with 474,166 units for 6.8 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows six stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Access Financial climbed $1.87 to $21.87, with 451 shares crossing the market, Cargo Handlers advanced $1.60 in closing at $11.60 after exchanging just 500 stocks, Caribbean Cream declined 25 cents in ending at $4., with 10,891 units changing hands. Caribbean Flavours increased 25 cents to close at $1.97 with the swapping of 212,907 stock units, Dolphin Cove fell 20 cents to end at $18 in switching ownership of 37,212 stock units, Elite Diagnostic lost 20 cents to $3.40, trading 15,556 stocks. Everything Fresh shed 14 cents to $1.22, with 29,677 units clearing the market, Express Catering dropped 31 cents to end at $5.62 with 14,301 shares changing hands, Fosrich dropped 80 cents in closing at $23.50, with 216,823 stock units crossing the exchange. Future Energy Source gained 25 cents to close at $6.25 after exchanging 1,038,976 units, iCreate declined 30 cents in closing at $3.20 with an exchange of 41,181 shares, Indies Pharma lost 16 cents to end at $3 in an exchange of 20,017 stock units. Jetcon Corporation shed 10 cents to $1.50 while exchanging 31,329 shares, Knutsford Express rallied 10 cents to $7.80 after finishing trading 2,136 units, 
Lasco Manufacturing popped 16 cents to close at $5.27 after an exchange of 95,723 stocks, following the release of improved full year results. Lumber Depot fell 20 cents to end at $3.10 in trading 413,705 stock units, Main Event shed 19 cents after finishing at $8.20 in exchanging 54,232 stock units, Medical Disposables jumped $1.19 to $8.19 in trading 73,758 stocks. Paramount Trading rallied 15 cents in closing at $1.90 in an exchange of 650 shares, Spur Tree Spices advanced 25 cents to close at $3.95, with 474,166 units changing hands and tTech rose 40 cents in closing at $3.89 while exchanging 4,000 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Paramount Trading joins ICTOP10
Dolla Financial Services IPO was heavily oversubscribed, and it is unlikely that investors will be able to buy the stock in the secondary market at a price that would place it in the TOP10 after day two of listing. Accordingly, the stock has been moved to the sideline, but it seems set to reach the $3 region sometime after listing.
The shifting of Dolla Financial out of the TOP10 resulted in Paramount Trading entering the TOP10 with the price falling to $1.75 in a week that saw investors selling stocks to raise funds to get into the IPO issue.
The past week was volatile, with the Junior Market index dropping more than 330 points or 7.6 percent from the close of the previous week to Wednesday, as investors sought funds to go into the Dolla IPO. The selloff was visible from May 12 with a near 100 points fall on that day as there was talk in the market of the pending issue.
This week’s pullback of the market resulted in mostly declines in the TOP10 Junior Market stocks. Medical Disposables dropped 13 percent to $7, while Access Financial also dropped 13 percent to close at $20, Elite Diagnostic slipped 9 percent in closing at $3.60 and Lasco Financial dipped 7 percent to $3.30.
For the TOP10 Main Market stocks, Berger Paints fell 13 percent to $10.63; Radio Jamaica declined 11 percent to $2.55, VM Investments lost 7 percent, followed by QWI Investments down 6 percent to 85 cents. There were no meaningful gains.
During the week, General Accident reported first quarter results with profit due to shareholders of the parent company rising 36 percent to $49 million, Friday after trading, Lasco Distributors reported profit increasing 12 percent for the full year to $1 billion but the final quarter being up 35 percent to $241 million and Lasco Manufacturing rising 45 percent in the March quarter to $522 million and the full year up 24 percent to $1.7 billion.ICInsider.com upgraded earnings for Lasco Distributors to 50 cents from 45 cents, but the others remain as previously stated. All three stocks are trading below ten times 2022 earnings and therefore have huge potential to appreciate.
Results for Access Financial and Medical Disposables to March are awaited.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 ends the week at 6.2, well below the market average of 14.4, while the Junior Market PE for the Top 10 sits at 5.9 versus the market at 13.1. The Junior Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 245 percent to May 2023 and the Main Market 241 percent.
Watch these stocks that sit just outside the TOP10 that investors should watch. They include Key Insurance, followed by Caribbean Producers and Scotia Group from the Main Market. In the Junior Market, Iron Rock Insurance, Dolphin Cove, Jetcon Corporation, Stationery and Office Supplies and Lasco Manufacturingreported strong fourth quarter results to March this year.
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 the end of May 2023. They are 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 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 bounce
Trading closed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market Friday with the volume of stocks traded declining 22 percent after 37 percent less funds entered the market compared to trading on Thursday, leading the market index to gain just 15.96 points to 4,120.05, with fewer shares rising as falling.
Trading resulted in only 35 securities changing hands, down from 41 on Thursday and ended with 11 rising, 14 declining and ten closing unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 13.1. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial years closing up to the end of August 2023
A total of 4,622,684 shares were traded for $18,728,840, down from 5,929,550 units at $29,697,652 on Thursday. Trading averaged 132,077 shares at $535,110 compared to 144,623 shares at $724,333 on Thursday, with the month to date, averaging 395,085 units at $1,705,419 compared to 406,842 units at $1,757,732 on the previous trading day. April closed with an average of 449,923 units at $1,781,786.
Future Energy Source led trading with 829,151 shares for 17.9 percent of the total volume, followed by JFP Limited with 587,666 units for 12.7 percent of the day’s trade and Tropical Battery with 456,605 units for 9.9 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging dipped 10 cents to $3.50, trading 3,874 shares, CAC 2000 lost $1.09, in ending at $6.31, with 2,500 units changing hands, Caribbean Flavours declined 23 cents to close at $1.72 with the swapping of 9,068 stocks. Derrimon Trading shed 19 cents in closing at $3 with an exchange of 166,263 stock units, Elite Diagnostic fell 20 cents to end at $3.60, with 7,516 stock units crossing the market, Express Catering rose 43 cents to $5.93 in exchanging 14,791 units. Fontana increased 10 cents to end at $9.90 after finishing trading of 157,880 shares, Honey Bun climbed 20 cents to close at $9.20 in an exchange of 4,933 stocks, Indies Pharma rallied 16 cents to $3.16 with 89,947 stocks changing hands. 
Jetcon Corporation advanced 28 cents to $1.60 in exchanging 14,516 shares, Knutsford Express gained 20 cents to close at $7.70 after trading 2,537 units, Lasco Distributors shed 12 cents in closing at $3.37 after 17,692 stock units crossed the exchange. Main Event popped 19 cents ending at $8.39, with 11,900 units changing hands, Spur Tree Spices fell 10 cents to $3.70, with 283,924 stocks clearing the market and Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 40 cents to $10.60 while exchanging 4,950 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
