Investors owning Junior Market stocks would be fortunate if they held most of the 19 best performing stocks in that market in 2023, if they held the TOP10 stocks from the start of 2023, they would have picked up gains ranging from 13 percent to a high of 65 percent, plus dividends in some cases.
Junior Market stocks fared better than their Main Market counterparts with 19 or 40 percent of listings recording gains during the year and 29 or 60 percent declining. ISP Finance was the leading Junior Market stock after gaining 65 percent for the year followed by Main Event up 55 percent, Regency Petroleum added 47 percent to the price at the commencement of the year, while Knutsford Express put on a solid 45 percent and Dolphin Cove 39 percent, in addition, the company paid dividends amounting to $1.60 during the year thus raising the total returns to 51 percent.
Declining Junior Market stocks were headed by the managerially and financially troubled iCreate down 65 percent,
Elite Diagnostic struggling to overcome machine failures, declined by 46 percent, Medical Disposables suffered a fall of 44 percent as profit collapsed in 2023, helped by increased finance costs. CAC2000 fell 43 percent and 2022 highflyer, Fosrich dropped 38 percent. Advertising and public relations firm Limners and Bards fell 38 percent, money transfer and micro lender, Lasco Financial dropped 33 percent and petroleum distributor Future Energy a 2022 high flying stock retreated with a loss of 28 percent.
Dolla falls on the Junior Market
Last week’s newly listed Dolla Financial continued trading as the outstanding Junior Market stock on Wednesday as it had its second best volume changing hands of 43 million units, following Tuesday’s exchange of 63.3 million shares, resulting in a 27 percent fall in the volume of stocks traded, with the value falling 26 percent from that on Tuesday.
Market activity ended with 42 securities trading versus 39 on Tuesday, with 17 rising, 17 declining and eight closing unchanged. The Junior Market Index slipped 2.48 points to 4,387.14 at the close.
The PE Ratio, a measure in computing appropriate stock values, averages 13. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks incorporate ICInsider.com projected earnings for companies with financial year ends that fall between November this year and August 2023.
A total of 53,578,778 shares traded for $189,107,558 against 73,506,120 units at $255,054,005 on the Tuesday. Trading averaged 1,275,685 shares at $4,502,561 versus 1,884,772 shares at $6,539,846 on Tuesday with month to date, averaging 430,240 units at $1,624,237 compared to 372,314 units at $1,427,027 on the previous trading day. May closed with an average of 376,907 units at $1,638,631.
Dolla Financial led trading with 42.67 million shares for 79.6 percent of total volume, followed by Future Energy Source with 2.04 million units for 3.8 percent of the day’s trade. JFP Limited ended with 1.28 million units for 2.4 percent market share, Tropical Battery traded 1.24 million units for 2.3 percent market share and Mailpac Group ended with 1.12 million units for 2.1 percent market share.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, AMG Packaging rallied 45 cents, ending at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.93 in exchanging 37,033 shares, Cargo Handlers climbed 29 cents to end at $12.59 after trading 30,030 stock units, Caribbean Cream shed 15 cents to close at $5 after exchanging 102 units. Consolidated Bakeries gained 8 cents in closing at $1.37 in switching ownership of 25,287 stocks, Dolla Financial fell 28 cents to close at $2.94 with the swapping of 42,665,413 units, EduFocal dropped 25 cents to $2.65, with 582,179 stocks crossing the exchange. Elite Diagnostic declined by 8 cents in ending at $3.30 and closed with 168,617 shares changing hands, Everything Fresh advanced 8 cents to $1.33 with 82,173 stock units traded, Express Catering rose 55 cents to end at $6 while exchanging 52,950 units. Fontana lost 36 cents in closing at $10.25 as 151,577 stock units crossed the market, Future Energy Source lost 21 cents in closing at $6, with 2,036,493 stocks changing hands, General Accident shed 20 cents in ending at $5.60 with 26,028 shares clearing the market. Honey Bun dropped 49 cents to end at $8.51 with an exchange of 10,146 stocks, Indies Pharma popped 14 cents to close at $3.45 after exchanging 104,147 stock units, 
Jamaican Teas increased 19 cents to $3.39 in an exchange of 71,874 units. JFP Limited fell 9 cents to close at $1.60 in trading 1,276,630 shares, Lasco Distributors declined 17 cents in closing at $3.05 after 121,964 stocks crossed the market, Lumber Depot fell 10 cents to $3.20 and finishing trading of 232,481 shares. SSL Venture climbed 47 cents ending at $3.85 while exchanging 363,321 units and Tropical Battery increased 30 cents to end at $3.08 in exchanging 1,235,845 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Big gains for 10 Junior Market stocks in 2018
While Junior Market stocks on the Jamaica Stock Exchange chalked up gains of just 18.8 percent overall for 2018, but 5 companies’ stock rose between 104 to 282 percent for the year.
SSl Venture Capital, formerly C2W Music raced to a gain of 282 percent to remain in the TOP 10 Junior Market stocks for the second consecutive year. The stock benefitted from new life given it, when Stocks and Securities acquired controlling interest in it, for use as a venture capital vehicle. The next best performing stock delivered gains of 213 percent as investors pushed Derrimon Trading to new heights after the company announced a 10 for one stock split and the acquisition of a subsidiary. CAC2000 captured the number 3 best performing spot, rising by 160 percent for the year, followed by the 2018new listing, Indies Pharma, with gains of 113 percent, after investors drove the price to a record high of $4.10 to a gain of 173 percent from the IPO price of $1.50. Express Catering gained 104 percent to be one of 3 stocks to reappear 
in the top 10 for two consecutive years. Caribbean Flavours landed the 6th spot with a gain of 73 percent. Statinery & Office Supplies reappeared in the Top 10 with a rise of 69 percent. ISP Financial chipped in with a rise of 67 percent in 8th spot to be followed by the Montego Bay based, Cargo Handlers that chipped in with 50 percent and the early 2018 listed Elite Diagnostic, was tenth after rising 48 percent.
The worst performing stocks for 2018 included, GWest Corporation down 56 percent due mainly to the much lower revenues than previously forecasted and greater losses. Jetcon Corporation, one of the 2017 Top 10 stocks, came next with a loss of 39 percent as the company reported lower profits for the nine months to September than the prior year. The new 2018 listing, Everything Fresh, ended the first year on the Junior Market as the third worst performing stock with a fall of 39 percent, helped by poor third quarter results as well as coming to the market at an excessive valuation. AMG Packaging ended as the 4th worst performer as the price 
reflected the losses caused by the toilet tissue operations with a decline in the stock price by 37 percent as it followed tTech with a decline of 33 percent. Eppley that migrated to the main market on the last day of 2018, declined 24 percent to the 6th worse performer, while Lasco Financial lost altitude to close out 2018 as the 7th worse performing the Junior Market stock, with a loss of 15 percent, just ahead of Knutsford Express at the 8th spot, with a fall of 13 percent, Sweat River fell 9 percent and Consolidated Bakeries ended at the 10th spot with a loss of 6 percent.
