Stocks traded higher on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Thursday, with the volume traded declining 37 percent and the value 55 percent lower than on Wednesday. following trading in just 38 securities, down from 42 on Wednesday and ended with prices of just 11 rising, 20 declining and seven closing unchanged.
Investors exchanged a total of 6,971,908 shares for $15,464,261, compared to 11,018,178 units at $34,448,601 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 183,471 shares at $406,954, compared to 262,338 shares at $820,205 on Wednesday with the month to date, averaging 310,422 units at $3,659,348 versus 320,328 stock units at $3,913,128 on the previous day. March closed with an average of 509,288 units at $1,071,868.
ONE on ONE Educational led trading with 1.51 million shares for 21.6 percent of total volume followed by Tropical Battery with 1.02 million units for 14.6 percent of the day’s trade and JFP Ltd with 884,430 units for 12.7 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index popped 22.89 points to end at 3,753.44.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 11.5. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed based on the last traded stock price and ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, AMG Packaging popped 20 cents to $2.80 with 1,431 shares clearing the market, Consolidated Bakeries fell 31 cents to end at $2.11 and closed with an exchange of 6,558 stock units, Dolla Financial gained 9 cents to close at $2.73 as 409,220 units passed through the market. Dolphin Cove shed 10 cents to $14.90 with investors transferring 3,119 stocks, Elite Diagnostic dipped 9 cents after ending at $2.46 with an exchange of 56 stock units, 
Fontana rallied 17 cents to end at $8.32 in trading 34,738 units. Fosrich dropped 9 cents in closing at $2.64 after trading 346,736 stocks, Honey Bun lost 7 cents to end at $6.25 in switching ownership of 2,208 shares, iCreate rose 7 cents to close at $1.59 after exchanging 165,128 shares. Knutsford Express rallied 69 cents after ending at $11.69 in an exchange of 12 units, Lasco Distributors climbed 21 cents to close at $2.40 as investors exchanged 12,727 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing increased 14 cents in closing at $4.14 in an exchange of 388 stocks. Limners and Bards declined 12 cents to end at $2.22, with 33,460 units crossing the market, Lumber Depot declined 8 cents after ending at $2.41 while exchanging 13,855 stocks, Main Event rallied 63 cents to $13.90, with 26,278 stock units changing hands. 
MFS Capital Partners dropped 35 cents to $2.96, with 874,948 shares crossing the exchange and Regency Petroleum shed 8 cents to close at $2.41 but only after hitting an intraday 52 weeks’ high of $2.58, with a transfer of 577,333 stocks.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading gains for Junior Market
Stocks closed higher and the end of trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Wednesday, after a 57 percent jump in the volume of stocks changing hands as the value more than doubled at 116 percent more than on Tuesday after trading in only 42 securities compared with 47 on Tuesday and ended with rising and declining stocks sharing 16 each as 10 closed unchanged.
Investors traded 11,018,178 shares for $34,448,601, up from 7,029,208 units at $15,932,727 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 262,338 shares at $820,205 compared to 149,558 shares at $338,994 on Tuesday, with a month to date average of 320,328 units at $3,913,128 compared to 325,801 stock units at $4,205,044 on the previous day, with the average value much higher than March with an average of 509,288 units at $1,071,868.
MFS Capital Partners led trading with 3.07 million shares for 27.9 percent of total volume followed by Spur Tree Spices with 1.21 million units for 10.9 percent of the day’s trade and Image Plus Consultants with 921,409 units for 8.4 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index increased 18.27 points to close at 3,730.55.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 11.5. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed using the last traded price in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging declined 52 cents to $2.60 with investors transferring 5,000 shares, Caribbean Cream dipped 19 cents to end at $3.30 in trading 6,323 stocks, Consolidated Bakeries advanced 35 cents to close at $2.42, with 4,118 units crossing the market. EduFocal fell 17 cents after ending at $2.05 while exchanging 518,313 stock units, Future Energy Source lost 10 cents to $4.06, with 672,600 shares changing hands,
General Accident gained $1.31 in closing at $6 after an exchange of 35,881 stocks. GWest Corporation popped 12 cents to $1.04 with 2,001 stock units clearing the market, Honey Bun dropped 15 cents to end at $6.32 after a transfer of 3,088 stocks, KLE Group rallied 19 cents to close at $2.06 with investors trading 101 units. Knutsford Express shed 70 cents to $11 with 18,214 shares crossing the market, Lasco Distributors lost 21 cents after ending at $2.19 in an exchange of 569,604 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing declined 15 cents to close at $4 with trading in 25,306 stocks. Main Event rose 47 cents to $13.27 in switching ownership of 53,571 units,MFS Capital Partners fell 18 cents to end at $3.31, with 3,074,181 stocks crossing the exchange. 
Regency Petroleum increased 19 cents in closing at a record high of $2.49 after exchanging 728,168 shares, Spur Tree Spices climbed 17 cents to $2.80 with the swapping of 1,205,767 stock units and Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 65 cents after ending at $14.50 in an exchange of 594 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Steady trading for JSE Junior Market
Stocks just edged lower in trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Tuesday, with the volume of stocks traded rising 21 percent and the value 24 percent more than on Monday following trading in 47 securities similar to Monday and ended with 19 rising, 17 declining and 11 closing unchanged.
Investors traded 7,029,208 shares for $15,932,727 compared with 5,812,729 units at $12,880,143 on Monday.
Trading averaged 149,558 shares at $338,994 compared to 123,675 shares at $274,046 on Monday, with the month to date, averaging 325,801 units at $4,205,044 compared to 346,614 stock units at $4,661,588 on the previous day. March closed with an average of 509,288 units at $1,071,868.
Spur Tree Spices led trading with 1.29 million shares for 18.3 percent of total volume followed by JFP Ltd with 1.18 million units for 16.8 percent of the day’s trade and ONE on ONE Educational with 1.17 million units for 16.7 percent of the day’s trade.
At the close, the Junior Market Index shed just 2.02 points to finish at 3,712.28.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 11.3. 
The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed using the last traded stock price in conjunction with ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one stock with a lower offer.
At the close, AMG Packaging popped 47 cents to close at $3.12 with an exchange of 20,615 shares, Cargo Handlers climbed 50 cents to $14 after 43 stock units crossed the market, Consolidated Bakeries fell 43 cents to $2.07 as investors transferred 30,858 units, EduFocal advanced 19 cents in closing at $2.22, following an exchange of 55,995 stocks, Express Catering lost 16 cents to end at $5.59 after exchanging 19,317 stock units, General Accident declined 35 cents to $4.69 in switching ownership of 10,000 shares,
GWest Corporation shed 12 cents to end at 92 cents in trading 7,176 units, Honey Bun gained 17 cents after ending at $6.47, with an exchange of 2,398 stocks, iCreate increased 16 cents to close at $1.59, with 118,218 stocks changing hands, ISP Finance rose $1.49 in closing at $21 with the swapping of 200 units, Jetcon Corporation rallied 24 cents to $1.30 as 102,293 shares passed through the market, KLE Group gained 17 cents to close at $1.87 with 159 stock units clearing the market, Knutsford Express price increased 70 cents in closing at $11.70 after 26,178 stocks were traded, Lasco Distributors dipped 18 cents in ending at $2.40 after a transfer of 59,283 shares, Lasco Manufacturing fell 15 cents to $4.15 in an exchange of 57,213 stock units, 
Main Event shed 25 cents after ending at $12.80, with an exchange of 19,904 units and Stationery and Office Supplies advanced 85 cents to end at $15.15 as investors exchanged a mere 140 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Junior Market jumps
The Junior Market recorded strong gains in the market index at the close of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday, with the Junior Market Index jumping 48.55 points to 3,714.30 even as the volume of stocks traded declined 54 percent with the value down 58 percent lower than on Friday after trading in 47 securities compared with 45 on Friday and ended with 19 rising, 18 declining and 10 closing unchanged.
Investors traded 5,812,729 shares for $12,880,143 down from 12,592,410 units at $30,723,595 on Friday.
Trading averaged 123,675 shares at $274,046, compared with 279,831 shares at $682,747 on Friday, with the month to date, averaging 346,614 stock units at $4,661,588 compared to 376,466 units at $5,249,094 on the previous trading day. March closed with an average of 509,288 units at $1,071,868.
ONE on ONE Educational led trading with 1.93 million shares for 33.2 percent of total volume, following release of half year’s results showing increased revenues of 47 percent and profit before tax jumping 122 percent, but with slightly lower profits in the second quarter compared with 2022 as administrative cost jumped 51.6 percent in the quarter. Lumber Depot followed with 678,357 units for 11.7 percent of the day’s trade and JFP Ltd ended with 661,320 units for 11.4 percent market share.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 11.2. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed using the last traded stock price in conjunction with ICInsider.com’s earnings projections for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial dropped 96 cents to $24.02, with 56 shares changing hands, AMG Packaging dipped 10 cents in ending at $2.65 with 600 units clearing the market, Derrimon Trading shed 7 cents to $2.05 in an exchange of 88,953 stocks, EduFocal fell 20 cents to $2.03 in exchanging 3,702 stock units, Express Catering increased 75 cents to close at $5.75 with a transfer of just 2,308 shares, 
Fontana declined 9 cents to end at $8.10, with 69,877 stocks crossing the market, Future Energy Source climbed 7 cents in closing at $4.17 with the swapping of 124,884 units, Honey Bun gained 19 cents to close at $6.30 after trading 81,172 stock units, Indies Pharma rallied 23 cents in ending at $3.33 after a transfer of 31 units, ISP Finance lost $1.69 to close at $19.51 after 1,510 shares passed through the market, KLE Group declined 25 cents to end at $1.70 as investors exchanged 15,173 stocks, Knutsford Express fell 50 cents in closing at $11 with investors trading 23,143 stock units, Lasco Distributors popped 41 cents after ending at $2.58 with an exchange of 105,353 stock units, Lasco Financial rose 10 cents to $2.50, with 6,358 shares crossing the market, Lasco Manufacturing advanced 19 cents to close at $4.30 in trading 10,118 units, Limners and Bards increased 13 cents to close at $2.34 with 50 stocks crossing the exchange, Lumber Depot climbed 27 cents to end at $2.50 closed with an exchange of 678,357 stocks, 
Main Event rallied 10 cents to $13.05 in an exchange of 35,706 units, Spur Tree Spices shed 7 cents in ending at $2.63 after an exchange of 88,262 shares and Stationery and Office Supplies dropped 70 cents in closing at $14.30 after switching ownership of 150 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Honey Bun in ICTOP10 as Purity jumps 24%
The Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange recorded solid gains during the past week as the Junior Market declined but that did not show up in the ICTOP10 stocks performance as Junior Market stocks ended with gains and losses with the average gains outdoing declines while the Main Market ended with modest price changes in a week when Consolidated Bakeries (Purity) was the star performer with a 24 percent rise to $2.50.
Consolidated Bakeries
The Junior Market had one change in the TOP10 as Main Event rose 6 percent to $12.95 and moved out of the TOP10, allowing Honey Bun to return after falling out the previous week.
Other major price movements in this past week were a 4 percent rise for Everything Fresh to $1.46, a 17 percent fall to $2.15 for Lasco Distributors and 4 percent decline for Image Plus to $1.95. Trading in Image Plus never resulted in more gains during the week following the previous week’s healthy move as selling continued at the same pace as the week before while buyers seem to have pulled back.
In the Main Market, Key Insurance rose 5 percent to $3.65, while Sygnus Credit Investments fell 5 percent to $11.40 as Guardian Holdings, Berger Paints and JMMB Group declined by 4 percent to $475, $7.70 and $30.31 respectively.
Interest rates on Bank of Jamaica CDs dipped again at this past week’s auction with the average rate slipping to 8.41 percent from 8.49 percent, at the previous week’s auction, with BOJ quarantining $104 billion. At the same time the foreign exchange market enjoyed buoyant flows with more funds entering the market each day than the amount dealers sold.
Another fact worth noting is that the Junior Market has a long history, with the market starting to rise around a month before the release of quarterly results and declining shortly after results are released.
Honey Bun’s return to the TOP10 Junior Market list this past week should enjoy increased investors’ interest with an expected jump in revenues and profits for the first quarter with the Easter coming at the beginning of April versus the 17th of April last year as well as improvement of gross profit margin that slipped last year.
At the end of the week, the average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 is 5.5 well below the market average of 13.5, while the Junior Market Top 10 PE sits at 5.7 compared with the market at 11.2. The differences are important indicators of the level of likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks. The Junior Market is projected to rise by 255 percent and the Main Market TOP10 an average of 276 percent, to May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
The Junior Market has 11 stocks representing 23 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 28, averaging 20, well above the average of the market. The top half of the market has an average PE of 16, suggesting that this may be a logical value for junior market stocks currently.
The 16 Main Market stocks with the highest value are priced at a PE of 15 to 115, with an average of 31 and 20 excluding the highest PE stocks and 20 for the top half excluding the stocks with the highest valuation.
The above average shows the extent of potential gains for the TOP 10 stocks.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market but not always. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments 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, computed using projected earnings 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.
Trading rises but Junior Market falters
Trading picked up modestly on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Friday, compared with Thursday, with the volume of stocks traded rising 17 percent valued more than on Thursday after trading in 45 securities took place down from 47 on Thursday and ended with 19 rising, 21 declining and five closing unchanged.
A total of 12,592,410 shares were traded for $30,723,595 compared with 10,803,209 units at $29,542,706 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 279,831 shares at $682,747, compared with 229,856 shares at $628,568 on Thursday, with the month to date, averaging 376,466 units at $5,249,094 compared with 390,677 stock units at $5,920,615 on the previous day. The average trade for March ended at 509,288 units at $1,071,868.
JFP Ltd led trading with 3.10 million shares for 24.6 percent of total volume followed by Mailpac Group with 2.92 million units for 23.2 percent of the day’s trade, Dolla Financial ended with 1.95 million units for 15.5 percent market share and Future Energy Source with 1.10 million units for 8.7 percent of total volume.
At the close, the Junior Market Index fell 20.33 points to 3,665.75.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 11.1. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed using the last traded stock price in conjunction with ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging gained 24 cents to $2.75 as investors exchanged 5,770 shares, Dolla Financial fell 17 cents after ending at $2.63 in an exchange of 1,945,805 units, Express Catering declined 50 cents in closing at $5, with 72,674 stocks clearing the market, Image Plus Consultants dipped 10 cents to close at $1.95 with investors transferring 738,384 stock units, Indies Pharma rallied 10 cents to $3.10 after 207,207 stocks crossed the market, 
ISP Finance climbed 20 cents in closing at $21.20 in trading 3,213 stock units, Knutsford Express shed 28 cents to end at $11.50 after an exchange of 37 shares, Lasco Distributors lost 29 cents after ending at $2.17 with a transfer of 14,107 units, Lasco Financial dropped 13 cents to close at $2.40 after exchanging 10,310 units, Lasco Manufacturing rose 50 cents to $4.11 in switching ownership of 10,154 stocks, Limners and Bards lost 18 cents to end at $2.21, with 1,101 shares crossing the exchange, Mailpac Group popped 14 cents after ending at $1.87 with the swapping of 2,917,967 stock units, MFS Capital Partners rose 10 cents to close at $3.48, with 88,914 units crossing the market, Spur Tree Spices advanced 17 cents in closing at $2.70 as 75,000 shares passed through the market, 
Stationery and Office Supplies advanced 90 cents to $15 and closed after an exchange of 23 stocks and tTech rallied 26 cents to $2.55, with just one stock unit changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Junior market trading jumps, but index falls
Trading increased on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Thursday, with the volume of stocks traded rising 68 percent and the value 66 percent more than on Wednesday with trading occurring in 47 securities, up from 45 on Wednesday and ended with 18 rising, 18 declining and 11 closing unchanged.
Investors traded 10,803,209 shares for $29,542,706 up from 6,413,927 units at $17,798,049 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 229,856 shares at $628,568 compared with 142,532 shares at $395,512 on Wednesday with the month to date, averaging 390,677 units at $5,920,615 versus 419,861 stocks at $6,880,948 on the previous day. The average trade in March ended at 509,288 units at $1,071,868
Tropical Battery led trading with 5.18 million shares for 47.9 percent of total volume followed by Future Energy Source with 1.39 million units for 12.8 percent of the day’s trade and Image Plus Consultants with 582,408 units for 5.4 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index fell 12.49 points to finish at 3,686.08.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 10.9. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed using the last traded price in conjunction with ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicators hows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging dipped 54 cents to $2.51 in trading 335 shares, CAC 2000 rallied 45 cents to close at $6, after just 230 stock units passed through the market, Dolphin Cove increased 60 cents after ending at $14.94 and trading 72,483 stocks, EduFocal climbed 20 cents to end at $2.20 after a transfer of 219,613 units, Express Catering dropped 44 cents in closing at $5.50, with 2,682 stocks crossing the market, 
Fontana fell 20 cents to $8.10 and closed with 57,034 shares changing hands, Fosrich popped 15 cents in closing at $2.70 while exchanging 157,464 stock units, Indies Pharma declined 17 cents to close at $3 in an exchange of 121,947 units, ISP Finance shed 20 cents in ending at $21 after switching ownership of 56 units, Knutsford Express gained $1.08 to end at $11.78 with an exchange of 50,517 stocks, Lasco Distributors hit an intraday 52 weeks’ low of $2.15 before advancing 14 cents to close at $2.46 after an exchange of 96,858 stock units, Lasco Financial rose 13 cents in closing at $2.53 with investors transferring 800 shares, Lasco Manufacturing lost 39 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $3.61 in an exchange of 190,085 stocks, Lumber Depot dropped 16 cents after ending at $2.20, with 191,079 shares crossing the exchange, Mailpac Group shed 15 cents to close at $1.73 46,388 with stock units changing hands, 
Main Event gained 59 cents to $12.89 with a transfer of 98,742 units, Paramount Trading popped 20 cents to close at $2.37, with 51 shares clearing the market and Spur Tree Spices dipped 10 cents in closing at $2.53 as investors exchanged 207,356 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Increased trading for Junior Market
The volume and value of stocks trading rose on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday, with the volume traded rising 15 percent and the value 34 percent more than on Thursday with all 48 listed securities trading compared with 40 on Thursday and ended with 13 rising, 23 declining and 12 unchanged but the Junior Market Index climbed 4.58 points to 3,703.49.
Investors traded 7,914,653 shares for $21,222,090, up from 6,861,944 units at $15,792,093 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 164,889 shares at $442,127, compared to 171,549 shares at $394,802 on Thursday, with the month to date averaging 478,177 units at $8,244,708 from 568,767 stock units at $10,500,876 on the previous trading day. March closed with an average of 509,288 units at $1,071,868.
Image Plus Consultants led trading with 1.80 million shares for 22.7 percent of total volume followed by Limners and Bards with 1.30 million units for 16.4 percent of the day’s trade and Future Energy Source with 1.24 million units for 15.7 percent of the day’s trade.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 10.9. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed using the last traded stock price in conjunction with ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ended with the bid higher than the last selling price and two with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial fell 19 cents to $24.48, with 11 shares changing hands, AMG Packaging gained 15 cents to close at $3.09 as 11 stocks passed through the market, Caribbean Cream shed 19 cents after ending at $3.30 in an exchange of 421 stock units, Dolla Financial declined 11 cents in closing at $2.66 while exchanging 934,838 units, Dolphin Cove dropped 47 cents to end at $14.50, with 365 shares crossing the market, EduFocal lost 20 cents in ending at $2.10 and closed after 32,352 stocks changed hands, Express Catering rose 73 cents to end at $5.45 in switching ownership of 93,642 stock units, Fontana dipped 22 cents in closing at $8.10 with an exchange of 31,836 units, Future Energy Source rallied 10 cents to $4.20 after a transfer of 1,239,044 stocks, 
General Accident shed 34 cents to close at $4.71, with 7,577 shares crossing the exchange, Honey Bun lost 64 cents to close at $6.11 in trading 38,283 units, Indies Pharma popped 29 cents to $3.19 with investors transferring 7,807 stock units, ISP Finance declined $3.30 to $18.70 after trading 7,961 stock units, KLE Group climbed 17 cents in closing at $1.86 with the swapping of one unit, Knutsford Express advanced 78 cents to $11.78 as investors traded 11,914 stocks, Lasco Distributors dipped 20 cents after ending at $2.43, with 23,512 shares crossing the market, Limners and Bards dipped 28 cents in closing at $2.20 after exchanging 1,298,592 units, Main Event fell 56 cents to close at $11.70 with 9,992 shares clearing the market, 
Stationery and Office Supplies increased 13 cents to $14.15 in an exchange of 3,539 stock units and tTech lost 26 cents to end at $2.29 with a transfer of 13,291 stocks.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Nice gains for ICTOP10 stocks, Purity returns
The Main and Junior Markets did not maintain the sharp bounce of the previous week, but most ICTOP10 Junior Market stocks ended with gains. In contrast, the Main Market ended with mostly modest losses, with 138 Student Living rising 5 percent to $5.30 and JMMB Group declining by 5 percent to $31.49, all other changes in the Main Market were two percent or less.
Dr Karlene McDonnough – Chairman of Image Consultants Ltd. The stock came in for increased demand during the week ahead of the release of full-year results.
The Junior Market had one change in its TOP10 list as Iron Rock Insurance and Image Plus climbed 13 percent to $2.27 and $2.03, respectively, while Main Event and Honey Bun rose 5 percent to $12.26 and $6.75, respectively, with the only sizable decline being a 9 percent fall for Tropical Battery to $1.90.
Image Plus never benefitted from any serious IPO bounce seems to be finally finding buying interest and closed the past week with 159,904 shares on the bid at $2.02, 160,746 at $2 and just over 800,000 between $1.90 and $1.95, with 25,987 stocks on offer at $2.03, 81,709 at $2.05 with one big offer of 1.72 million units at S2.50 with smaller offers before the this. There has been healthy trading in the stock recently, with trading of 824,526 units on Thursday. Trading on Wednesday saw 1,153,255 shares changing hands in the stock, with 910,000 units on Tuesday and 1.75 million shares on Monday, which seems to have cleared out a great deal of overhang in the market.
Update on interest rate developments. A number of developments taking place in the economy are worth watching. Following last week’s $35 billion Bank of Jamaica CD auction that saw the average rate coming in at 8.49 percent, this week’s auction saw an offer of $34 billion, with the average rate remaining the same as the previous week with fewer funds chasing the offered amount. 
Another positive development is the average inflation rate running at 45 percent less than the same time last year and averaging 2.4 percent per annum since November last year. Foreign exchange inflows have been strong, with the NIR growing at $66 million in February and 220 million in March, putting it at a record end of month level as initial data suggest that tourism arrivals and foreign exchange generated by that industry exceed the similar period in 2019, the last year without the impact of covid-19 negatively affecting the sector. On top of those positive developments, corporate profits are expected to enjoy a good bounce for the majority of companies for the first quarter.
The Junior Market has a long term pattern, with the market starting to rise around a month before quarterly results are due and declining shortly after results are released. This is a pattern worth noting that can be built into investment decisions to improve returns.
Consolidated Bakeries Miss Birdie Easter bun. The stock is back in the ICTOP10
Dropping from the TOP10 Junior Market list this past week was Honey Bun, but investors should expect a big jump in revenues and profits for the first quarter, with the Easter coming at the beginning of April versus the 17th of April last year, as well as an improvement of gross profit margin that slipped up last year.
Returning to the TOP10 is Consolidated Bakeries in the number 3 spot. The company is projected to report a solid first quarter profit, with the Easter holidays coming at the start of April compared with April 17 last year and ensuring that mostly all Easter bun sales will be reported in the March quarter unlike 2022. The company reported a profit in 2022 a big improvement over a loss in the previous three years. ICInsider.com projects earnings of 40 cents for 2023 and 75 cents for 2024 with the company benefitting from a full recovery of the local economy and increase efficiency and reduction in borrowings. At the end of the week, the average PE for the JSE
Main Market TOP 10 is 5.6, well below the market average of 13.5, while the Junior Market Top 10 PE sits at 5.7 compared with the market at 11.1. The differences are important indicators of the likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks. The Junior Market is projected to rise by 256 percent and the Main Market TOP10, an average of 271 percent, to May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
The Junior Market has 10 stocks representing 21 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 29, averaging 19, well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 15, suggesting this may be a logical value for junior market stocks.
The 16 stocks with the highest value in the Main Market stocks are priced at a PE of 15 to 115, with an average of 30 and 19 excluding the highest PE stocks and 19 for the top half excluding the stocks with the highest valuation.
The above average shows the extent of potential gains for the TOP 10 stocks.
ICTOP10 focuses on likely yearly winners, accordingly, the list includes some of the best companies in the market, but not always. ICInsider.com ranks stocks based on projected earnings, allowing investors to focus on the most undervalued stocks and helping to remove emotions in selecting stocks for investments that often result in costly mistakes.
IC TOP10 stocks will likely deliver the best returns up to the end of May 2023 and are ranked in order of potential gains, computed using projected earnings for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate, resulting 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 gains
Trading fell back to more normal levels on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Thursday, with the volume of stocks traded diving 91 percent and the value 99 percent from Wednesday’s elevated high following a large block of Access Financial shares being traded, with trading in 40 securities compared with 42 on Wednesday and ended with prices of 15 rising, 18 declining and seven closing unchanged.
Investors traded 6,861,944 shares for $15,792,093 versus 72,320,927 units at $1,687,100,183 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 171,549 shares at $394,802 versus 1,721,927 shares at $40,169,052 on Wednesday, with a month to date average of 568,76 units at $10,500,876 compared with 694,868 stock units at $13,709,154 on the previous day. March averaged 509,288 units at $1,071,868.
ONE on ONE Educational led trading with 1.22 million shares for 17.8 percent of total volume, followed by EduFocal with 1.03 million units for 15 percent of the day’s trade and Image Plus Consultants with 824,526 units for 12 percent market share.
At the close, the Junior Market Index advanced 5.7 points to 3,698.91.
The PE Ratio, a measure of computing appropriate stock values, averages 11.1. The PE ratios of Junior Market stocks are computed using the last traded stock price and ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for the financial years ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and five with lower offers.
At the close, AMG Packaging popped 26 cents in closing at $2.94 after trading 50 shares, Cargo Handlers lost 31 cents in ending at $12.99 after 306 stocks passed through the market, Consolidated Bakeries dropped 15 cents to $2.01 trading 15,293 units, EduFocal increased 38 cents to close at $2.30 with the swapping of 1,029,901 stock units, Express Catering dipped 28 cents to end at $4.72 after exchanging 24,493 stocks, 
Fosrich rose 10 cents in closing at $2.61 in an exchange of 656,117 shares, Future Energy Source declined 11 cents to end at $4.10, with 540,987 stock units crossing the market, General Accident advanced 10 cents to $5.05 with 2,000 units crossing the exchange, Indies Pharma fell 29 cents to $2.90 and closed after investors swapped 119,732 units, ISP Finance shed $1.99 to close at $22 with one stock changing hands, Knutsford Express dipped 78 cents to $11, with 2,000 shares crossing the market, Lasco Manufacturing gained 9 cents in closing at $4.10 as investors exchanged 1,500 stock units, 
Mailpac Group rallied 12 cents to close at $1.84 with 96,082 stocks clearing the market and Paramount Trading climbed 20 cents to end at $2.40 after a transfer of 212,994 stock units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.