There is only one change to ICInsider.com TOP10 listings this week, with Radio Jamaica coming back in the Main Market list at position 3. Following an earnings upgrade for the 2023 fiscal year, it replaces Jamaica Stock Exchange that ICInsider.com projects to have explosive results for the first quarter.
Radio Jamaica
In the wider market, Junior Market stocks keep on piling the pressure on the main market with the former closing the week at a record high, with year to date gains of 32.8 percent and is well on the way to ICInsider.com forecast of 60 percent for the year.
Thanks to a takeover announcement of AS Bryden, a Trinidad based company by Seprod, the Main Market moved higher for the week, with the All Jamaica Index just under 460,000 points, still well below 2020 high.
TOP10, Access Financial shares moved higher this past week as selling seems to have dried up and led the stock to a 22 percent rise during the week, to be the best performing stock in the TOP10. Access Financial has been beaten up for more than two years but is now worth watching. On Friday, well ahead of the close of the market, a buy order for 100,000 Access Financial shares was placed at $25.60, but only18,000 units were filled up to the close. There were no stocks on offer with any sizable quantity close to the bid price just before close, indicating that the price is heading higher.
Elite Diagnostic 
gained 8 percent to close the week at $3.90, but Caribbean Assurance Brokers that reported a profit for the first quarter versus a loss in 2021, fell by 6 percent and so did General Accident that is said to be having a good 2022, with Trinidad and Barbados expected to deliver positive results versus a loss of around $200 million in 2021. Movement of main market stocks was more subdued than their junior counterpart, with the Jamaica Stock Exchange rising a mere 4 percent and selling at 8 times this year’s earnings, with a blowout first quarter results due shortly. Caribbean Cement, surprisingly, fell 8 percent as buying interest in the stock is low, even as the first quarter results suggest the stock is highly undervalued.
The average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 ends the week at 6.2, well below the market average of 15.5, while the Junior Market PE for the TOP10, sits at 6.2 versus the market at 13.8. The Junior Market TOP10 is projected to gain an average of 230 percent to May 2023 and the Main Market 201 percent.
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.
The Junior Market Index advanced 5.78 points to settle at a record close of 4,537.15.
Trading averaged 420,671 shares at $1,765,794 in contrast to 315,695 shares at $1,324,308 on Thursday with month to date, averaging 420,345 units at $2,125,294 versus 420,260 units at $2,218,892 on the previous trading day. April closed with an average of 449,923 units at $1,781,786.
iCreate fell 24 cents to end at $3.45 while exchanging 467,069 stocks, ISP Finance popped $5 to end at $27 in exchanging 441 units, Jamaican Teas declined 25 cents to $3.51 in switching ownership of 946,429 shares. Lasco Manufacturing rose 25 cents to end at $5.35 after 61,867 stock units changed hands, Mailpac Group shed 11 cents to $3.06, with 1,318,018 units crossing the market, Medical Disposables gained 15 cents in ending at $7 after an exchange of 42,054 shares. Stationery and Office Supplies increased 50 cents in closing at $9.50, trading 5,094 stock units, Tropical Battery rallied 12 cents to close at $2.74, with 512,723 stocks crossing the market and tTech climbed 17 cents ending at $3.90, with 607,636 stocks changing hands.
Market activity led to 42 securities trading against 41 on Wednesday and ended with 21 rising, 18 declining and three closed unchanged.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
Lasco Manufacturing dropped 25 cents to $5.10, with 133,284 shares changing hands, Medical Disposables lost 15 cents to end at $6.85 in an exchange of 156,514 units, Spur Tree Spices rallied 15 cents to close at $3.95 while exchanging 447,724 stocks. Stationery and Office Supplies climbed 75 cents to close at $9 after 6,154 stock units changed hands and Tropical Battery declined 13 cents to end at $2.62 with an exchange of 1,515,720 shares.
A total of 41 securities trading compared to 43 on Tuesday, with 18 rising, 18 declining and five closing unchanged.
At the close, Access Financial lost 50 cents to close at $21 in trading 1,356 shares, Derrimon Trading advanced 12 cents after ending at a 52 weeks’ high of $3.05 in exchanging 747,293 stock units, Dolphin Cove declined $1.40 to $20, with 160,113 units crossing the market. EduFocal rallied 21 cents to end at $3.29 with an exchange of 1,152,223 stocks, Elite Diagnostic rallied 10 cents in closing at $4 with the swapping of 17,586 shares, Fontana gained 50 cents to close at $11 in switching ownership of 146,566 units. Fosrich shed $2.05 to end at $32.92 after exchanging 101,170 stock units, Future Energy Source increased 22 cents to $7 trading 2,351,607 stocks, General Accident fell 26 cents in closing at $6.14 after an exchange of 8,286 units. iCreate climbed 95 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.19, with 1,696,163 stocks crossing the exchange, Jamaican Teas dropped 27 cents to $3.53 in an exchange of 1,850,548 stock units, Knutsford Express shed 10 cents in closing at $7.80, with 107,922 shares crossing the market. 
Lasco Distributors dropped 18 cents to end at $3.30, with 1,551 stock units changing hands, Lasco Financial rose 10 cents to $3.40 after exchanging 92,884 shares, Lasco Manufacturing advanced 25 cents to close at $5.35 with 11,010 stocks clearing the market. Main Event climbed 98 cents to $9.98 while exchanging 28,655 units, Medical Disposables popped $1 to end at $7, trading 212,382 stock units and tTech declined 17 cents to $3.78 after exchanging 34,471 units.
The Junior Market Index dropped 33.11 points to 4,452.22 after reaching a record intraday high of 4,543.70 within an hour of opening.
At the close, Blue Power advanced 26 cents in closing at $3.85, with 6,369 shares clearing the market, CAC 2000 increased 65 cents to close at $6.75 after exchanging 65 stock units, Dolphin Cove fell 60 cents to $21.40 in trading 48,298 units. Elite Diagnostic climbed 30 cents in ending at $3.90 after trading 1,902,202 stocks, Fontana fell 75 cents to end at $10.50 with 127,121 stocks changing hands, Fosrich rose $1.37 in closing at a 52 weeks’ high of $34.97 after an exchange of 575,546 units. Future Energy Source gained 28 cents to end at $6.78, with 2,333,516 shares changing hands, Honey Bun lost 20 cents to close at $9.27 in switching ownership of 15,379 stock units, iCreate shed 24 cents after ending at $3.24 trading 319,360 stock units. Iron Rock Insurance dropped 30 cents to $3.30 in exchanging 140 stocks, ISP Finance fell $7.49 to close at $22 with the swapping of 941 units, KLE Group lost 65 cents to end at $1.95 after trading 5,054 shares. Knutsford Express declined 10 cents to $7.90 in an exchange of 59,645 shares, Lasco Manufacturing shed 48 cents in ending at $5.10, with 57,949 stock units crossing the market, Mailpac Group rallied 13 cents in closing at $3.17 with an exchange of 137,725 units.
Main Event dropped 87 cents in closing at $9 while exchanging 61,254 stocks, Medical Disposables declined 79 cents to close at $6 after 574,571 shares crossed the exchange, Spur Tree Spices fell 27 cents to end at $3.80 in exchanging 2,417,836 stocks. Stationery and Office Supplies lost $1.25 to close at $8.25, with 16,626 stock units changing hands and tTech popped 16 cents ending at $3.95 in trading 34,234 units.
Market activity led to 43 securities trading compared to 44 on Friday and ended with 14 rising, 21 declining and eight closing unchanged.
Trading averaged 741,497 shares at $4,382,795, up from 240,793 shares at $1,067,444 on Friday with month to date. April closed with an average of 449,923 units at $1,781,786.
Lasco Manufacturing rallied 33 cents to end at $5.58 after exchanging 20,611 units, Spur Tree Spices fell 18 cents in closing at $4.07 after an exchange of 1,206,504 stocks and Stationery and Office Supplies gained 20 cents to end at $9.50, with 14,980 stock units crossing the market.
The Main Market that ICInsider.com forecast to deliver a 14 percent rise for the year struggles to break from consolidation so far, with a rise of just 4.8 for the four months to April and is consistent with a 14 percent increase for the year. It is quite likely that the market PE could climb closer to a PE of 18, which will push the annual gains to around 30 percent if the financial stocks show good increases in profit for the year. That is a very likely situation as the hike in interest rates is driving net interest income sharply upwards.
In addition to the Top15 selection for each market at the start of the year, we added a few stocks. There were nine winning stocks with good gains. The list includes AMG Packaging 73 percent, Dolphin Cove 47 percent, Elite up 26 percent, Everything Fresh 83 percent, iCreate 263 percent, Jetcon 75 percent, Spur Tree Spices 215 percent, Stationery and Office Supplies 46 percent and Tropical Batteries up 124 percent for the year to date and up 64 percent since ICInsider.com added it was added to the TOP10 on February 25. Caribbean Cream, down 7 percent, is the only Junior Market stock selection to fall.
The big TOP15 winners for the Main Market are Caribbean Producers, up 42 percent, Jamaica Stock Exchange at 22 percent, JMMB Group at 16 percent and Proven at 14 percent. Berger Paints, down 7 percent, Jamaica Broilers, with a fall of 3 percent and Scotia Group, down one percent, are the only losers in this segment.
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.
At the close, Access Financial rose 83 cents to $21.03, with 4,393 shares clearing the market, AMG Packaging popped 24 cents to $3.80, trading 52,828 units, CAC 2000 rallied 40 cents to end at $7 after exchanging 6,371 stocks. Cargo Handlers advanced $2.09 to close at $12.25 after 11,280 stock units changed hands, Dolphin Cove dropped 48 cents to $22 in trading 14,442 stocks, Express Catering climbed 16 cents to close at $6.16, with 18,272 units crossing the market. Fontana gained 34 cents in closing at $11.29 with the swapping of 352,809 stock units, General Accident increased 41 cents to end at $6.40 while exchanging 12,585 shares, Indies Pharma declined 14 cents to $3.15, with 110,478 stock units changing hands. Jetcon Corporation shed 12 cents in ending at $1.63, with 339,723 shares crossing the market, Lasco Manufacturing fell 45 cents to close at $5.25 after switching ownership of 2,001,922 stocks, Medical Disposables rallied 39 cents in closing at $6.89 with 15,015 units changing hands. 
Paramount Trading climbed 28 cents to end at $2.04 with an exchange of 151,045 shares, Spur Tree Spices lost 20 cents after finishing at $4.25 in exchanging 941,724 stock units, SSL Venture rose 15 cents to $1.75 after trading 50,512 units. Stationery and Office Supplies declined 35 cents to end at $9.30 in an exchange of 89,056 stocks, Tropical Battery shed 14 cents in ending at $2.85, with 647,853 stocks crossing the exchange and tTech fell 33 cents to close at $3.76 after exchanging 103,068 stock units.
Trading averaged 1,030,475 shares at $5,073,340, up from 369,428 units costing $1,397,363 on Wednesday, with the month to date, averaging 461,796 units at $1,822,342 versus 426,741 units at $1,621,938 on the previous trading day. Trading in March averaged 719,276 units at $2,636,802.
Lasco Manufacturing popped 60 cents ending at $5.70 with an exchange of 40,838 units, Medical Disposables lost 50 cents to close at $6.50 after 135,187 stocks changed hands, Paramount Trading shed 22 cents to end at $1.76 while exchanging 552,705 shares. Spur Tree Spices climbed 23 cents to close at a record high of $4.45 after an exchange of 679,715 stock units, SSL Venture dropped 15 cents in ending at $1.60, with 109,215 stocks crossing the market, Stationery and Office Supplies advanced 65 cents to end at $9.65 after 29,964 units crossed the exchange and tTech rallied 19 cents in closing at $4.09 with 10,000 shares traded.
At the close, Access Financial rallied $1.12 to close at $21.50 while exchanging 24,946 shares
Medical Disposables climbed 95 cents to close at $7 after exchanging 1,128,190 units, Spur Tree Spices increased 31 cents in ending at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.22 after 1,754,659 stocks changed hands, SSL Venture popped 17 cents in closing at $1.75, with 175,106 shares clearing the market, Stationery and Office Supplies popped 75 cents to end at $9 trading 15,960 units and tTech rose 11 cents to $3.90 after 11,782 stock units passed through the exchange.
