The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Wednesday, with the market rising as more stocks fell than rose after investors traded 10 percent more shares than on Tuesday.
Trading concluded with 34 securities changing hands compared to 31 on Tuesday and ended with the prices of 17 stocks rising, the prices of 12 declining and five with prices remaining unchanged.
At the close, the Junior Market Index advanced by 26.41 points to settle at 2,564.59. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.3 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 2,584,097 shares for $13,160,131 compared to 2,347,642 units at $7,227,746 on Tuesday.
Express Catering led trading with 686,413 shares for 26.6 percent of total volume followed by Caribbean Flavours with 316,756 units for 12.3 percent of the day’s trade and Fontana with 227,636 units for 8.8 percent market share.
Trading ended with an average of 76,003 units at $387,063 in contrast to 75,730 at $233,153 on Tuesday. The month to date, average trade resulted in an exchange of 111,413 units at $338,882, in comparison to 113,855 units at $335,560 on Tuesday. Trading in July resulted in an average of 248,153 units at $668,727.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial lost $3.92 to settle at $20.08 with investors trading 2,828 shares, AMG Packaging gained 15 cents to end at $1.70 with an exchange of 1,500 stock units, Blue Power slipped 1 cent to $3.06 with 35,984 shares traded. Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 14 cents to close at $2.05 with 1,500 units changing hands, Caribbean Cream added 2 cents to end at $3.97 with an exchange of 5,789 stock units. Caribbean Flavours dropped $1.01 to finish at $18.49 in trading 316,756 units, Consolidated Bakeries declined by 9 cents to close at $1.36 with 76,000 stock units crossing the market, Derrimon Trading fell 29 cents to $2.51 with investors switching ownership of 8,050 stocks. Everything Fresh rose 6 cents and traded 2,900 stock units to settle at 71 cents, Express Catering finished 5 cents higher at $4 with 686,413 units passing through the market, Fontana lost 12 cents and exchanged 227,636 units to settle at $4.82.
Fosrich slipped 5 cents to close at $3.70, with 2,327 units changing hands, General Accident advanced 5 cents to end at $6.34 with investors transferring 11,000 shares, Honey Bun gained 1 cent to finish at $5.10 with investors switching ownership of 2,285 units. iCreate increased by 2 cents to close at 70 cents with 15,331 stock units traded, Indies Pharma gained 7 cents in the exchange of 74,978 stock units to settle at $2.82, Jamaican Teas fell 4 cents to finish at $4.90 with 43,715 stock units changing hands. Jetcon Corporation closed 2 cents higher at 84 cents in the exchange of 33,751 shares, Lasco Distributors lost 9 cents to end at$3.15 with investors switching ownership of 63,559 units, Lasco Financial traded 163,583 stock units and fell 7 cents to settle at $2.09. Lasco Manufacturing gained 9 cents to finish at $3.98 with 33,050 shares traded, Limners and Bards traded 133,577 stocks and advanced 23 cents to close at $2.51, Lumber Depot ended 5 cents higher at $1.05 with investors transferring 92,005 stock units. Mailpac Group exchanged 217,089 stocks and gained 3 cents to settle at $2, Main Event declined by 10 cents to finish at $3.40 with investors switching ownership of 7,198 stock units, Medical Disposables lost 10 cents to end at $5 with 52,970 stock units traded. Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 20 cents to close at $5.80, with investors transferring 142 shares and tTech advanced by 8 cents to settle at $5.49 with 2,948 units crossing the exchange.
In the preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% fell 17 cents in ending at $1.03 in an exchange of 500 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading ended with 31 securities changing hands compared to 27 on Monday and ended with the prices of 11 stocks rising, the prices of 16 declining and four with prices remaining unchanged.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
Honey Bun climbed 26 cents to close at $5.09 with a mere 10 units changing hands, iCreate finished 1 cent higher at 68 cents with 321,388 units crossing the market. Indies Pharma declined by 5 cents in exchanging 27,770 stock units to close at $2.75, Iron Rock Insurance advanced 40 cents to end at $3.20, in trading 24,000 shares, Jamaican Teas rose 29 cents to close at $4.94 with 154,886 units changing hands. Jetcon Corporation fell 4 cents to settle at 82 cents in an exchange of 48,603 stocks, Lasco Distributors advanced 24 cents to finish at $3.24 with 70,312 units traded, Lasco Manufacturing gained 9 cents to end at $3.89 with investors transferring 20 units. Limners and Bards exchanged 274,649 shares and dropped 38 cents to close at $2.28, Lumber Depot slipped 2 cents to $1 with investors switching ownership of 20,000 stock units, Mailpac Group declined by 10 cents to settle at $1.97 with 563,033 units traded. Main Event increased 10 cents to close at $3.50 with investors transferring 6,284 stock units, Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 19 cents to finish at $5.60 in the trading of 124,072 stocks and tTech fell 9 cents to settle at $5.41 with 25,878 shares crossing the exchange.
The fall elevating it back into the Junior Market TOP 10, with Lasco Distributors dropping out, while there was no change to the main market list.
The targeted average PE ratio of the market is 20 based on the profits of companies reporting full year’s results, from now to the second quarter in 2021. Both the Junior and Main markets are currently trading well below this level, an indication of the potential gains ahead. The JSE Main Market ended the week, with an overall PE of 15 and the Junior Market 10.6, based on IC Insider.com’s projected 2020-21 earnings. 
The average PE ratio of the Junior Market has been slowly rising, with better profit opportunities than the Main Market and narrowing the gap. The PE ratio for the Junior Market Top 10 stocks average a mere six at just 56 percent to the average of the overall Junior Market. The Main Market TOP 10 stocks trade at a PE of 8.1 or 54 percent of the PE of the overall market.
IC TOP 10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2021 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on possible gain for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. 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. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.
Trading ended with 32 securities changing hands compared to 31 on Thursday and concluded with the prices of 14 stocks rising, the prices of 13 declining and five with prices remaining unchanged. At the close, the Junior Market Index lost 32.10 points to finish the week at 2,507.17. The average PE Ratio of the market ended at 10.3 based on IC Insider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
At the close of the market, CAC 2000 jumped $1.54 to end at $12 with investors transferring 100 stock units, Cargo Handlers lost 77 cents to settle at $6.53 in the exchange of 4,600 stock units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers slipped 1 cent to $2.22 in trading 12,020 shares. Caribbean Flavours declined by 4 cents to finish at $14.95 with 18 stock units changing hands, Caribbean Producers lost 3 cents to close at $2.40 in an exchange of 92,418 units, Derrimon Trading ended 24 cents higher at $2.77 with investors transferring 20,100 shares. Everything Fresh rose 11 cents to finish at 72 cents with 11,918 stocks trading, Express Catering fell 2 cents to settle at $3.50 with investors switching ownership of 19,400 units. Fontana gained 7 cents to close at $4.88 with 94,240 units changing hands, Fosrich declined by 5 cents to end at $3.75 in the exchange of 859 shares, General Accident carved out a loss of 30 cents in trading 18,289 stocks to settle at $6.70. Honey Bun lost 1 cent to close at $5.09 with investors transferring 16,364 shares, iCreate advanced 4 cents to finish at 67 cents with an exchange of 46,450 units, Indies Pharma dropped 30 cents to end at $2.50 with 350,453 shares traded. 
Jetcon Corporation gained 4 cents to settle at 86 cents with 11,030 shares changing hands, Knutsford Express rose 9 cents to close at $6.90 in the exchange of 17,718 stock units, Lasco Distributors slipped 2 cents to $3.24 with investors transferring 6,165 units. Lasco Financial fell 13 cents to settle at $2.16 with 50,561 shares traded, Lasco Manufacturing shed 28 cents to finish at $3.61 with 4,089 stock units changing hands, Limners and Bards gained 5 cents to close at $2.74 with an exchange of 28,282 stock units. Lumber Depot increased by 8 cents to end at $1.05 with investors transferring 32,270 stocks, Mailpac Group advanced by 3 cents and traded 293,441 shares to close at $2.03, Main Event climbed 47 cents to end at $3.97 with 100 units changing hands. Medical Disposables declined by 5 cents to close at $4.90 in an exchange of 23,650 stock units, Stationery and Office Supplies gained 18 cents to finish at $5.79 trading 100 stocks and tTech rose 16 cents to close at $5.50 with 200 stocks crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows three stocks closing, with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
Iron Rock Insurance declined by 30 cents to end at $2.80 after exchanging 871 stocks, Jamaican Teas closed 9 cents higher at $4.69 with 74,744 shares traded, Jetcon Corporation gained 1 cent, with investors transferred 24,112 stock units to close at 82 cents. Lasco Distributors advanced 1 cent to settle at $3.26 with 107,689 stocks changing hands, Lasco Financial gained 9 cents to finish at $2.29 with 13,774 stock units clearing the market, Lasco Manufacturing slipped 1 cent to $3.89 with 11,000 shares traded. Limners and Bards advanced 9 cents to settle at $2.69 with investors switching ownership of 46,963 stock units, Lumber Depot declined by 1 cent in exchanging 347,991 shares to end at 97 cents, Mailpac Group rose 2 cents to close at $2 with investors transferring 66,860 stock units. Medical Disposables dropped 4 cents to finish at $4.95 with 10,939 units traded and SSL Venture rose 11 cents to end at 86 cents with 10,000 shares crossing the exchange.
At the close of the market, Access Financial shed $3 to settle at $20 with 1,914 shares traded, AMG Packaging slipped 1 cent to $1.70 and clearing the market with 2,790 stocks, Blue Power fell 34 cents to end at $3.06 with 3,740 units changing hands. Cargo Handlers rose 77 cents to settle at $7.30 in trading 120 stock units, Caribbean Assurance Brokers advanced 1 cent to close at $1.93 with an exchange of 41,233 stocks, Caribbean Cream climbed 54 cents to $5.04 with investors transferring 60,726 units. Caribbean Producers declined by 2 cents to end at $2.43 with 204,759 stock units traded, Elite Diagnostic finished at $3.10 after losing 2 cents and clearing the market with 2,500 shares, Everything Fresh gained 3 cents to settle at 71 cents with 1,000 units changing hands. Fontana closed 4 cents higher at $4.99 in an exchange of 47,715 stock units, General Accident fell 57 cents to $5.93, with 67,329 stocks traded, Honey Bun lost 8 cents to end at $5.01 after exchanging 3,918 shares. 
iCreate lost 4 cents to finish at 61 cents with investors transferring 115,000 stock units, Iron Rock Insurance fell 10 cents to $3.10 with 100 stocks traded, Jamaican Teas dropped 25 cents to end at $4.60 after exchanging 48,256 shares. Jetcon Corporation rose 1 cent to end at 81 cents, with 117,493 units passing through the market, Knutsford Express slipped 9 cents to close at $6.81 with an exchange of 300 units, Lasco Distributors gained 18 cents to end at $3.25 with 83,878 units changing hands. Lasco Financial slipped 6 cents to finish at $2.20 with investors transferring 31,094 stock units, Limners and Bards lost 7 cents to close at $2.60, in clearing the market with 139,671 units, Lumber Depot slid 6 cents to end at 98 cents, with an exchange of 31,500 stock units. Mailpac Group advanced 2 cents to settle at $1.98, with 517,864 stock units traded and Medical Disposables lost 1 cent to end at $4.99 with a mere 20 shares crossing the exchange.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Jetcon Corporation shed 9 cents to end at 80 cents after clearing the market with 75,627 stock units, Lasco Distributors advanced by 7 cents to close at $3.07 after exchanging 42,319 units. Lasco Financial carved out a loss 9 cents and ended at $2.26, with 29,627 units passing through the market, Lasco Manufacturing lost 7 cents in closing at $3.90, finishing trading with 11,367 stocks, Limners and Bards carved out a loss 13 cents in closing at $2.67 after exchanging 42,709 units. Mailpac Group dropped 6 cents to end at $1.96 in trading 1,155,107 units, Medical Disposables gained 10 cents in ending at $5 after 50 units crossed the exchange, Paramount Trading dipped by 9 cents in closing at $1.70, with 48,800 stock units changing hands. Stationery and Office Supplies rose 1 cent to $5.61, trading 2,485 shares and tTech increased 59 cents to $5.34, with 35 stocks crossing the exchange.
At the close of the market, Access Financial gained 3 cents ending at $22.55 with investors trading 3,980 stock units, AMG Packaging increased 1 cent to end at $1.71 while exchanging 306 shares, Cargo Handlers carved out a loss 4 cents to end at $7.30 in an exchange of 700 units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers lost 12 cents to end at $1.92, with 10,047 units changing hands, Caribbean Cream gained 11 cents to end at $4.11 after trading 1,225 stocks, Caribbean Flavours jumped $1.50 to settle at $13, with 108,817 shares passing through the market. Consolidated Bakeries dropped by 17 cents to $1.38 after exchanging 5,000 stock units, Derrimon Trading fell 30 cents in closing at $2.50, with 71,408 stock units crossing the exchange, Elite Diagnostic dropped by 3 cents to end at $3.12 with investors switching ownership of 90,206 stock units. Everything Fresh fell 8 cents to 66 cents, with 747,741 shares changing hands, Express Catering shed 5 cents to end at $3.85 with investors switching ownership of 6,056 shares, Fontana fell 1 cent in ending at $4.98, with 48,119 units clearing the market. General Accident carved out a loss 70 cents and ended at $6.50 with investors switching ownership of 505,006 units, GWest Corporation added 5 cents to close at 75 cents, trading of 2,000 units, 
Honey Bun carved out a loss 15 cents to close at $4.95, with 22,900 shares changing hands. iCreate rose 3 cents to close at 68 cents, with 610,064 stock units passing through the market, Iron Rock Insurance lost 40 cents to end at $3 in exchanging 800 units, Jamaican Teas gained 15 cents to end at $4.65 while exchanging 78,695 stock units. Jetcon Corporation dropped by 9 cents to settle at 89 cents in trading 91,736 stocks, Lasco Distributors dropped 34 cents to close at $3 while exchanging 1,527,013 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing lost 2 cents to close at $3.97 in clearing the market with 17,315 shares. Lumber Depot dipped by 1 cent to end at $1.04 in an exchange of 131,521 stocks, Mailpac Group lost 6 cents to finish at $2.02, with 438,799 units crossing the exchange, Main Event dropped 49 cents to settle at $3.50, with 21,720 units changing hands. Medical Disposables lost 10 cents to end at $4.90, after 18,999 stocks crossed the exchange and SSL Venture fell 11 cents to 75 cents, with an exchange of 1,000 units.
This week’s focus: 138 Students Living reported a 44 percent increase in revenues to hit $334 million from $223 million in the June 2019 quarter and a 60 percent rise in the nine months to $1.09 billion. The company moved from a loss of $17 million in the 2019 third quarter to a profit of $132 million in 2020 and from a loss of $60 million in the nine months to June, to a profit of $402 million. Operating cost fell in both periods compared with the 2019 cost. The big problem is that the company continues the extremely poor practice of not showing operating and administrative expenses separately, making it impossible to see what gross margins are. The significant increase in profit is due to claims made on the University going back to 2019, which are booked in the current year that distorts earnings from ongoing operations. 
While earnings per share for the quarter is an attractive 32 cents and year to date 97 cents. Earnings from ongoing operations suggest that the full year’s results should be in the order of 40 cents after a regular tax charge.
The average projected gain for the Junior Market IC TOP 10 stocks is 278 percent, and 152 percent for the JSE Main Market, based on 2020-21 earnings, an indication of potentially more significant gains in the Junior Market than in the Main Market.
Trading ended with 27 securities changing hands compared to 31 on Thursday and ended with the prices of eight stocks rising, the prices of nine declining and ten with remaining unchanged.
For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 136,446 shares at $382,221, in comparison to 137,315 units at $373,348 on Thursday. Trading to date compares adversely to July, with an average of 248,153 units at $668,727.
General Accident dropped 15 cents to end at $7.20 in exchanging 11,944 stocks, iCreate lost 3 cents to settle at 65 cents in an exchange of 83,321 stock units, ISP Finance fell 41 cents to settle at $14.59, with ten shares changing hands, Jamaican Teas dropped by 50 cents to settle at $4.50 in trading 1,956,594 stock units. Lasco Distributors carved out a loss of 6 cents in closing at $3.34 and exchanging 20,587 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing added 9 cents in closing at $3.99 in trading 26,000 stocks, Limners and Bards gained 9 cents to finish at $2.80 with an exchange of 6,853 shares. Lumber Depot increased 2 cents in closing at $1.05 and trading 2,100 units. Medical Disposables rose 9 cents to $5, with 5,387 stock units crossing the exchange, SSL Venture carved out an increase of 11 cents to close at 86 cents, with an exchange of 1,500 units and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 20 cents to close at $5.60 in trading 44,707 shares.