Investors pushed Portland JSX to a new high of $14, for an increase of 27 percent, since it was listed on Wednesday. The stock has so far traded 30,000 shares and put on $1 in the morning session. Lasco Distributors with 124,864 shares changing hands and Caribbean Producers, made some recovery from two day of declines.
Elsewhere, Pan Jamaican Investment traded 469,095 shares at $24.20 and Lasco Financial traded 128,515 shares at $3.35.
The session, generally, had low volumes trading after 85 minutes of the market’s opening, resulting in 22 securities changing hands and accounting for a volume of 1,078,489 shares, of which 11 stocks gained and 3 declined. The average number of shares traded amounts to 49,022 units, compared to an average of 17,210 units on Thursday.
The all Jamaica Composite Index climbed 881.09 points to 179,623.77, the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index rose 787.85 points to 161,657.36 the Jamaica Stock Exchange combined index rose by 472.92 point to close at 170,549.07 points andthe junior market index slipped 25.14 points to 2,007.78.
By 11:15 am, the main market shed 1,785.12 points as measured by the all Jamaica Composite Index , the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index chopped 1,596.21 points and the Jamaica Stock Exchange combined index 1,738.49 while the junior market remained unchanged.
Portland JSX jumps to $14
JSE majors surge on Thursday
Supreme Ventures traded the most shares on Thursday with 4.6m units
The junior market accounted for 472,148 shares valued at $2,592,609, of all trades while Supreme Ventures accounted for 4,611,492 units as the price slipped 1 cent to end at $4.50.
A total of only 27 securities traded, 6 less than on Wednesday, with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 13 declining, including 4 stocks rising and 5 declining from the junior market. Notwithstanding the market movements for the past week, the market continues to consolidate while waiting for news to break out.
The JSE Market Index jumped 1,072.53 points to end at 160,869.51. The all Jamaica Composite Index surged 1,199.46 points to close at 178,742.68 and the JSE combined index eased 37.74 points, to end at 170,076.15.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 13 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.At the end of market activities, Cable & Wireless fell by 2 cents while trading 127,068 shares to close at $1.15, Carreras traded 5,205 shares but fell 20 cents to $64.80, Ciboney traded 31,500 shares at 21 cents. 1834 Investments traded 86,414 shares after rising by 2 cents to close at $1.02, Grace Kennedy dropped $3 and closed at $120 with 9,392 units changing hands. Jamaica Broilers ended with 6,808 units changing hands to close at $15, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 1,000 shares and gained 33 cents to close at $21.33,
Mayberry Investments traded 200,612 units and fell 1 cent to close at $3.50, National Commercial Bank ended with 17,708 units changing hands at $42. Pan Jamaican Investment Trust traded 4,096 shares to close at $24, Portland JSX gained 45 cents and ended with 69,949 shares changing hands at a new closing high of $13, after it traded as high as $13.50. Radio Jamaica traded at $1.50 after 15,717 shares changed hands with a 5 cents gain, Sagicor Group ended with 12,780 shares changing hands, the price rose 45 cents to end at $23.50. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 22,800 shares and lost 2 cents to close at $10.10, Scotia Group fell 10 cents with 189,000 shares trading to close at $30.40 and Scotia Investments ended with 15,700 shares trading to close at $26.
LascoD shot juniors – Thursday
The junior market closed trading sharply down on Thursday, with the market index diving 100.65 points, to close at 2,032.92. A $1.57 fall in the price of the Lasco Distributors inflicted most of damage to the junior market index on Thursday, with a fall by 4.7 percent, the stock fell from $7.40 at the start of trading on Wednesday, down to $5.30 in the morning session, for a 28 percent decline.
Caribbean Producers that sunk sharply on Wednesday as investors reacted negatively to the news that profit in the final quarter of the fiscal year to June will be hit by added cost. The stock did not trade but closed with the bid at $3.20 compared to the last sale price of $3, Lasco Distributors was one of the stocks that closed with the bid being higher than the last traded price, but with a small volume.
A total of only 6 active securities with only 472,148 shares valued at $2,592,609 changed hands on Thursday. At the close, 2 stocks advanced and 3 declined
At the end of trading 8 stocks closed with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 ended with a lower offer.
At the end of trading, Consolidated Bakeries gained 15 cents in trading 16,389 shares to close at $2.15, the stock was offered at $2.10 at the close,
Key Insurance traded 1,837 shares and rose 10 cents to close at $2.60. Lasco Distributors traded 412,422 units to end at $5.33, as investors continued to respond negatively to news that Pfizer is countering Lasco huge claim of more than US$300 million with their estimate of less than US$1 million. Pfizer had previously challenged Lasco over their right to sell tablets for hypertension and lost, resulting in the need to quantify damages by the courts. Lasco Financial ended with 5,200 shares changing hands at $3.35, after falling 7 cents, Lasco Manufacturing gained 3 cents to close at $5.03 with 8,300 shares trading and Medical Disposables added 28,000 units and remained unchanged at $3.45.
LasD chops over 85 points off juniors
Investors chopped the price of Lasco Distributors by $1.01 to $5.99 and pulled down the junior market index by a large 4 percent or 85 points in early Thursday morning trading. After 80 minutes of trading the price plummeted to $5.30 pulling the index even lower. The drop also pulled down the combined market index by more than 1,100 points.
Investors continue to react negatively to the news that Pfizer’s estimate for damages due to Lasco is US$518,000 well off the US$300 million the local company is claiming.
Lasco Distributors traded 396,700 shares as the price dropped $1.70 overall. The next big trade was Supreme Ventures with 4,600,497 units at $4.50. Some demand have built up for Portland JSX with 59,949 shares trading at $12.60 and with bids at $13.
The session had low volumes trading overall after 80 minutes of the market’s opening resulting in 18 securities changing hands, accounting for a volume of 5,311,849 shares 5 stocks gained and 5 declined. The average number of shares traded amounts to 295,103 units compared to an average of 17,210 units on Thursday.
The all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 379.30 points to 177,163.92, the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index fell 339.17 points to 159,457.81, the Jamaica Stock Exchange combined index declined by 1,190.21 to close at 168,783.34 points andthe junior market index slipped 99.03 points to 2,034.54.
JSE takes another hit- Wednesday
The latest IPO, Portland JSX was listed at the start of trading after a successful public offering that saw the offer being oversubscribed. The stock opened with a bid to buy 30,000 shares for $1 more than the IPO price of $11 at $12 and later traded 8,500 units to end at $12.55 after it started trading at $12.05. The gain hardly did much to the market overall as the day closed with all major indices down.
Trading on the Jamaica stock market on Wednesday remained modest, with just 2,706,984 units valued at $46,242,560 changing hands in all market segments. The junior market accounted for 777,300 shares valued at $4,030,252, of all trades. All market indices lost ground as stocks declining were slightly ahead the ones rising.
A total of 33 securities traded 6 less than on Tuesday, with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 13 declining, including 4 stocks rising and 5 declining from the junior market. Notwithstanding the decline over the past few days, the market continues in a consolidating mode, with the indices rising and falling from day to day, with no new information to cause a break out.
The JSE Market Index dropped 912.73 points to end at 159,796.98. The all Jamaica Composite Index plunged 1,020.75 points to close at 177,543.22 and the JSE combined index dived 1,430.24 points, to end at 170,113.89.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading showed 10 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
At the end of market activities, Berger Paints traded 36,539 shares unchanged at $4.50, Cable & Wireless recovered 7 cents while trading 32,000 shares to close at $1.17, Caribbean Cement dropped $3 to close at $22 with 33,722 shares trading, Carreras traded 167,915 shares but fell 40 cents to $65, Ciboney traded 28,000 shares at 21 cents. Grace Kennedy gained $2.50 and closed at $123 with 20,869 units changing hands, Jamaica Broilers ended with 7,567 units changing hands to close at $15, Jamaica Producers traded 4,431 units to end at $49, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 22,596 shares but fell $3 to close at $21, 
JMMB Group traded 39,505 units and rose 1 cent to end at $9.73. Kingston Wharves traded 4,160 units and gained 99 cents to close at $16 as supply dries up on the stock, National Commercial Bank ended with 46,492 units changing hands at $42. Pan Jamaican Investment Trust lost $1.48 in trading 23,152 shares to close at $24, Sagicor Group ended with 6,055 shares changing hands at $23.05. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 906,595 shares to close at $10.12, Scotia Group fell 50 cents with 360,016 shares trading to close at $30.50, Sterling Investments ended with 14,000 shares trading to close with a fall of $1.49 at $11.50. Supreme Ventures lost 49 cents and ended at $4.51 while trading 7,200 units and Proven Investments traded 156,000 units to close at 16.49 US cents, up from 16 US cents.
LascoD & Carib Producers hit juniors – Wednesday
The junior market closed trading sharply down on Wednesday with the market index falling 56.88 points, to close at 2,133.57. A 90 cents falls in the price of the Caribbean Producers inflicted much damage to the market index which fell by 2.6 percent, Lasco Distributors also chipped in with a 40 cents fall. Both stocks were the subject of new information that is negative for their stock prices.
A total of 11 active securities with only 777,300 shares valued at $4,030,252, changing hands. At the close, 4 stocks advanced and 5 declined
At the end of trading 7 stocks closed with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 ended with lower offers.
At the end of trading, AMG Packaging fell 71 cents in trading 5,854 shares at $12.41, CAC 2000 lost 6 cents with 22,385 shares changing hands, to end at $6.56, Caribbean Cream traded 5,260 shares and gained 5 cents to end at $5.10. Investors continued to react negatively to the release by Caribbean Producers on Monday, about a write down of inventory and other charges, by marking the stock down again by 90 cents, in trading 264,600 shares to close at $3. At the close the only meaningful bid visible is at $1.50 to buy 999,000 units, offers include 30,000 at $3.80 and at $4 a total of 135,000 units. Consolidated Bakeries gained 15 cents in trading 2,800 shares to close at $2.15, the stock was offered at $2.10 at the close. 
C2W Music traded 5,589 shares to end at 28 cents, Honey Bun rose 1 cent to close at $5.51, with 21,460 units changing hands, Iron Rock Insurance traded 5,000 shares and fell 5 cents to close at $3.25. Lasco Distributors dropped 40 cents while trading 342,459 units to end at $7, as investors responded negatively to news that Pfizer is countering Lasco’s huge claim of more than US$300 million, with their estimate of less than US$1 million. Pfizer had previously challenged Lasco over their right to sell tablets for hypertension and lost, resulting in the need to quantify damages by the courts. Lasco Financial ended with 64,000 shares changing hands at $3.42, after gaining 22 cents and Lasco Manufacturing closed at $5 with 37,893 shares trading.
Portland JSX list gains $1.51
The Jamaica Stock Exchange suffered another morning of slippage on Wednesday. The latest IPO, Portland JSX was listed at the start of the session after a successful public offering that saw the offer being oversubscribed. The stock opened with a bid to buy 30,000 shares at $12, compared to the IPO price of $11 and later traded 666 units up to $12.51.
Caribbean Producers continues to see investors react negatively to news from the company of write down of inventories and restructuring cost, that will hit profits for the company’s fourth quarter, by cutting the price from the $3.90 it fell to on Tuesday, down to $3. Elsewhere Scotia Group traded 107,887 units at $30.51, AMG Packaging fell from $13.10 to $12.41 with 5,854 shares trading while Carib Cement crashed to $22.28 from $25 with 6,750 shares.
The session had low volumes trading overall, after 75 minutes of the market’s opening, resulting in 18 securities changing hands and accounting for a volume of 309,785 shares as 6 stocks gained and 6 declined. The average number of shares traded amounts to 17,210 units, compared to an average of 24,178 units on Tuesday.
The all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 607.16 points to 177,956.81, the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index fell 542.91 points to 160,166.80, the Jamaica Stock Exchange combined index declined by 657.15 to close at 170,886.98 points andthe junior market index slipped 14.97 points to 2,175.48.
CAC profit edges higher
Revenues climbed just 5 percent to $252 million and after tax profit rose 16 percent to $21.8 million for junior market listed CAC 2000, but pretax profit was slightly lower than for 2015 with $23.6 million reported for 2016 April quarter versus $24.7 million for the similar period in 2015.
For the six months to April, revenues climbed 16 percent to $481 million and after tax profit rose 20 percent to $48.5 million from $40.6 million in 2015. Gross profit rose 19.7 percent to $182 million for the six months and 8.9 percent to $96 million for the second quarter.
Selling and distribution cost fell from $10 million in the 2015 second quarter to $6 million in 2016 and for the half year, from $20 million to $14 million. Administrative cost rose from $46 million for the second quarter to $63 million and for the six months from $83 million to $114 million. The increase is “due to our investment in additional resources to support the continued growth in business,” Steven Marston, the chairman of the company stated.
The increased cost, pushed profit before other revenues to $27 million for the 2016 quarter from $34 million in 2015 and for the year to date, from $50 million to $54 million.
Earnings per share ends at 40 cents for the half year and 18 cents for the quarter. The stock trades on the Jamaica Stock Exchange junior market at $6.70 at a PE around 8.7 times this year’s earnings, putting it at 21 out of the 29 junior market listings.
At the close of April, CAC had cash of $188 million, total current assets of $771 million and current liabilities of $382 million. Borrowed funds stood at $156 million with equity capital at $382 million.
Dolphin Cove Buy Rated again
Dolphin Cove now placed on the IC Insider’s Buy Rated list. The company is projected by IC Insider to earn $1.50 per share for 2016 after tax or 44 percent up on the earnings per share for of $1.04 for 2015. If the company achieves the above earnings the PE ratio would be 7.5 times 2016 estimated earnings, versus 8 for the average of the junior market.
As the year roles on the price is likely to increase, based on valuation of 14 times 2015 earnings, placed on the junior market, suggesting the possibility of the price doubling within a year. In addition the company pays regular dividends and this will add to returns investors will get from this stock.
First quarter results to March hit a profit after tax of $185 million for a strong increase of 39 percent above the corresponding period in 2015. The improved profit came from an increase of 11 percent in revenues to $520 million, due primarily to a 35 percent growth in ancillary revenue. Gross profit increased by 14 percent as a result of the growth in revenue and a decline in direct cost of sales while increase in operating expenses was up 5 percent over the 2015 cost to reach $297 million. There was new operating and administrative costs which the directors’ state contributed to the improved service delivery.
Birds at Dolphin Cove property in Ocho Rios
The company ended with cash and investments of $385 million, borrowings of $210 million and equity of $2.9 billion.
The stock last traded on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange at $11.10, but has a bid to buy at $11.25, with offers starting at $12.
Jetcon listing slated for Thursday
Jetcon Corporation coming on the heels of a successful issue of shares to the public that opened on Monday March 14, in respect of 44,500,000 ordinary shares is expected to start trading on Thursday, March 24 with the listing committee meeting on Tuesday to consider and approve the listing.
The offer closed shortly after opening on Monday after it was oversubscribed. A total of 256 applications covering $113 million were received. Applications of all reserved shares were fully satisfied while the general public got the first 5,000 Shares applied plus 83.11 percent of the balance. The shares were sold to the public at $2.25 each. the closure left some investors out in the cold as they missed the early closing time of the offer.
Listing on the junior market will result in no corporate taxes being paid for 5 years from the time of listing. Jetcon reported profit of $50.6 million for the 2015 year and enjoyed 45 percent increased revenues for the first two months of 2016 ahead of the similar period in 2015, accordingly, IC Insider rate the stock Buy Rated.