Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Monday, with a 74 percent fall in the volume of stocks changing hands having a 74 percent lower value than on Friday and resulting in nine securities traded, compared to 10 on Friday with two rising, three declining and four ending unchanged and resulting in the US Denominated Equities Index jumping 16.75 points to 236.30 and pushing the market back into positive territory.
Overall, 194,605 shares were exchanged for US$3,511 compared with 742,486 units at US$13,313 on Friday.
Trading averaged 21,6n23 shares at US$390 down from 74,249 shares at US$1,331 on Friday, compared with April with an average of 394,241 units at US$22,357.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.5. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with a lower offer.
At the close, Margaritaville remained at 11.48 US cents after a transfer of 25 shares, Productive Business Solutions gained 29.99 cents to end at US$1.8999 as investors exchanged one stock unit, Proven Investments shed 0.19 of a cent in ending at 17.4 US cents after trading 3,996 units, 
Sygnus Credit Investments lost 0.39 of one cent to close at 9.05 US cents in trading 3,168 stocks, Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share climbed 1.16 cents to close at 12.16 US cents, with 3,383 stock units crossing the exchange and Transjamaican Highway fell 0.05 of a cent and ended at 1.11 US cents with an exchange of 184,000 stocks.
In the preference segment, Eppley 6% preference share ended at US$1.40 after an exchange of two units, Equityline Mortgage Investment preference share had one share changing hands at US$1.64 and JMMB Group 5.75% remained at US$2, with 29 stocks clearing the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
JSE USD market jumps into May
iCreate in ICTOP10 Image Plus EPS jumps
The markets are changing, with the Main Market up for three consecutive weeks but the Junior Market meandering for the last four weeks. Against this backdrop, there was one change to the TOP10, with iCreate coming in and Dolla Financial falling out, but Dolla and Honey Bun, that slipped out the previous week, sit immediately below the TOP10.
There were no significant winners for the past week in both markets’ TOP10 as losers dominated. The Junior market had Consolidated Bakeries falling 11 percent to $2.17 and general Accident down 10 percent to $5.40 and Lasco Distributors down 3 percent, with the stock selling at just 5.5 times 2023 estimated earnings and only 8.5 times the company’s nine month results. By any stretch, the stock is considerably undervalued and there are more profits to come in the current fiscal year.
Main Market stocks had a 13 percent fall in Key Insurance after the price closed at $3.08, Berger Paints contracted by 9 percent to $7.54 and 138 Student Living slipped 5 percent to $5.03, while Jamaica Broilers rose just 3 percent to $37.
Stocks are being prepped to rally, with early signals that interest rates will be declining across the board sooner than later. This stems from the continued slide of rates on BOJ CDs since March, that saw the rate falling by 23 percent to 8.11 percent against a background where inflation since November last year is running at less than one percent per annum.
At the week’s close, Image Plus released full year results showing profit after tax jumping 125.6 percent to $213 million or 21 cents per share. ICInsider.com revised earnings for the current fiscal year to 35 cents from 30 cents previously.
The Junior Market’s long history of rising around a month before the release of quarterly results and declining shortly after results are released seems to be starting with a rise of 108 points in the market index this past week, with the supply of some stocks falling sharply.
At the end of the week, the average PE for the JSE Main Market TOP 10 is 5.4, well below the market average of 13.8, while the Junior Market Top 10 PE sits at 5.9 compared with the market at 11.6. The differences are important indicators of the level of likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks. The Junior Market is projected to rise by 257 percent and the Main Market TOP10 by an average of 280 percent to May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
The Junior Market has 11 stocks representing 23 percent of the market, with PEs from 15to 27, averaging 21, well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 17, suggesting that this may currently be the lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks.
The 18 highest valued Main Market stocks are priced at a PE of 15 to 115, with an average of 29 and 20 excluding the highest PE stocks and 20 for the top half excluding the stocks with the highest valuation.
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, 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.
Rising stocks clipped losers on JSE USD Market
Trading dropped back to more recent levels on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Friday, with the volume of stocks changing hands declining 97 percent with 99 percent lower value than on Thursday, resulting in 10 securities traded, similar to that on Thursday and ended with the prices of three rising, two declining and five ending unchanged.
Investors traded 742,486 shares for US$13,313 compared to 22,118,146 units at US$1,680,361 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 74,249 units at US$1,331, down from 2,211,815 shares at US$168,036 on Thursday, with a month to date average of 394,241 shares at US$22,357, compared with 426,563 units at US$24,480 on the previous day. March ended with an average of 172,829 units for US$12,793.
The US Denominated Equities Index rallied 1.94 points to end at 219.56.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.5. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with a lower offer.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share dropped 0.94 of one cent to end at 5.16 US cents in switching ownership of 1,000 shares, Margaritaville gained 1.45 cents and ended at 11.48 US cents 12 with stock units crossing the market, 
Proven Investments ended at 17.59 US cents and closed with an exchange of 15,823 stocks, Sygnus Credit Investments climbed 0.44 of a cent to close at 9.44 US cents with investors transferring 11,000 units, Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share rallied 0.43 of one cent in closing at 11 US cents, with 5,312 stock units clearing the market and Transjamaican Highway remained at 1.16 US cents after a transfer of 708,836 stocks.
In the preference segment, Eppley 6% preference share ended at US$1.40 with a transfer of just one unit, Equityline Mortgage Investment preference share remained at US$1.64 with the swapping of a mere one share, JMMB Group 5.75% declined 20 cents in closing at US$2 in an exchange of only one stock and JMMB Group 6% remained at US$1.07 in an exchange of 500 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
First Rock dominates JSE USD trading
Trading surged sharply on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Thursday, with the volume of stocks changing hands jumping 19,268 percent with 22,230 percent greater value than on Wednesday, First Rock Real Estate and proven Investments commanded the bulk of the day’s trade accounting for 99.36 percent of the volume traded, with trading in 10 securities, up from six on Wednesday and closing with four rising, four declining and two ending unchanged.
Overall, 22,118,146 shares were traded, for US$1,680,361 compared with 114,200 units at US$7,525 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 2,211,815 shares at US$168,036 compared to 19,033 shares at US$1,254 on Wednesday, with a month to date average of 426,563 shares at US$24,480 compared with 225,973 units at US$8,351 on the previous day. March ended with an average of 172,829 units for US$12,793.
The US Denominated Equities Index dipped 19.78 points to 217.61.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.5. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share gained 0.16 of a cent to end at 6.1 US cents after hefty trading of 19,350,000 shares, Margaritaville rallied 0.03 of a cent to 10.03 US cents as investors exchanged 595 units, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy dipped 2 cents in closing at 58 US cents with a transfer of 37 stock units. 
Productive Business Solutions lost 29.99 cents to close at US$1.60 with the swapping of 28 stocks, Proven Investments advanced 0.54 of one cent and ended at 17.59 US cents after an exchange of 2,626,400 stocks, Sterling Investments ended at 1.89 US cents, as 13,860 units changed hands. Sygnus Credit Investments ended at 9 US cents, after trading 75,643 stocks and Transjamaican Highway popped 0.01 of a cent in closing at 1.16 US cents while exchanging 42,500 shares.
In the preference segment, Productive Business 9.25% preference share declined 25 cents to close at US$12.75 in an exchange of 2,566 stocks and JMMB Group 6% shed 1 cent to end at US$1.07 in an exchange of 6,517 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Losers beat winners on JSE USD Market
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Wednesday, with the volume of stocks changing hands declining 62 percent valued 78 percent lower than on Tuesday, resulting in six securities traded, compared to six on Tuesday with one rising, four declining and one ending unchanged.
Overall, 114,200 shares were traded for US$7,525 compared with 301,912 units at US$33,588 on Tuesday.
Trading averaged 19,033 units at US$1,254 down from 50,319 shares at US$5,598 on Tuesday, with a month to date average of 225,973 shares at US$8,351 compared to 240,933 units at US$8,864 on the previous day. March ended with an average of 172,829 units for US$12,793.
The US Denominated Equities Index shed 0.11 points to finish at 237.58.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.6. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by ICInsider.com’s projected earnings for companies with their financial year ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share after ending at 5.94 US cents while exchanging 4,000 shares, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy declined 5 cents to end at 60 US cents as investors exchanged 500 stock units, Proven Investments fell 0.44 of one cent to close at 17.05 US cents with a transfer of 1,574 units, Sterling Investments lost 0.12 of one cent after ending at 1.89 US cents, with 544 stocks passing through the market, Sygnus Credit Investments dipped 0.03 of a cent in closing at 9 US cents with the swapping of 69,409 shares and Transjamaican Highway rose 0.01 of a cent in closing at 1.15 US cents, with 38,173 units crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
JSE USD Market drops
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market ended on Tuesday, with a 74 percent jump in the volume of stocks changing hands, valued 198 percent more than on Monday, and resulting in six securities being traded, up from three on Monday with none rising, four declining and two ending unchanged.
Overall, 301,912 shares were traded for US$33,588 compared with 173,563 units at US$11,282 on Monday.
Trading averaged 50,319 units at US$5,598 compared to 57,854 shares at US$3,761 on Monday, with a month to date average of 240,933 shares at US$8,864 compared with 255,786 units at US$9,118 on the previous day. March ended with an average of 172,829 units for US$12,793.
The US Denominated Equities Index lost 2.65 points to end at 237.28.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.9. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share fell 0.46 of a cent to close at 5.94 US cents after investors traded 13,000 shares, Margaritaville dropped 1.47 cents to land at 10 US cents while exchanging 42,183 stocks, Proven Investments dipped 0.11 of a cent in closing at 17.49 US cents after a transfer of 101,600 units, Sygnus Credit Investments shed 0.41 of a cent in ending at 9.03 US cents with the swapping of 100,021 stock units and Transjamaican Highway remained at 1.14 US cents in switching ownership of 44,108 stock units.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group 6% ended at US$1.08 with investors transferring 1,000 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Honey Bun rises 8% to exit ICTOP10
The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange recorded solid gains during the past week as the Main Market declined, resulting in three solid gains for the ICTOP10 Junior Market stocks and just one notable move in the performance of the ICTOP10 Main Market as General Accident added 18 percent to its value to be the best performing stock for the week.
General Accident selling supply of stocks is down sharply.
The Junior Market had one change in the TOP10 as Honey Bun moved out for a second time in weeks with a rise of 8 percent, allowing Dolla Financial to come in at number 10. Dolla is likely to enjoy a doubling in profit for the current year, having expanded the loan portfolio dramatically since taking on the billion dollar loan. Investors in the stock can look forward to healthy gains in the stock price during the year.
Main Event, one of the previous week’s top performers that exited the Top 10 with a 6 percent gain to close at $12.95, keeps on rolling on and climbed another 13.5 percent this week to $14.70, up 63.5 percent for the year to date as investors continue to applaud the company’s performance by buying up the stocks as they see more profits to come this year, with the economy fully opened up for entertainment.
The other major price movements during the week were a 9 percent rise for Lasco Distributors, that ended at $2.36 and Honey Bun, up 8 percent to $6.57. There are only two stocks with losses of two percent or less.
In the Main Market, only three stocks recorded declines, but Berger Paints was the only stock with a meaningful move, gaining 8 percent to $8.30.
Interest rates on Bank of Jamaica CDs dipped again at this past week’s auction that, which saw the average rate slipping to 8.21 percent from 8.41 percent at the previous week’s auction. Over the past five months, inflation has been running at less than one percent per annum, which has set the stage for BOJ to act quickly to slash interest rates, a positive development for the market.
The Junior Market’s long history of rising around a month before the release of quarterly results and declining shortly after results are released seems to be starting with a rise of 108 points in the market index this past week, with the supply of some stocks falling sharply.
Honey Bun’s fall from the TOP10 Junior Market list is not the end of the road for this outstanding performer with 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 previous year. ICInsider.com expects the price to increase by up to 200 percent this 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 13.7, while the Junior Market Top 10 PE sits at 5.9 compared with the market at 11.6. The differences are important indicators of the level of likely gains for ICTOP10 stocks. The Junior Market is projected to rise by 246 percent and the Main Market TOP10 by an average of 273 percent, by May 2024, based on 2023 forecasted earnings.
The Junior Market has 13 stocks representing 27 percent of the market, with PEs from 15 to 27, averaging 19, well above the market’s average. The top half of the market has an average PE of 16, suggesting this may be the current lowest fair value for Junior Market stocks.
The 16 highest valued Main Market stocks are priced at a PE of 15 to 114, with an average of 31 and 21 excluding the highest PE stocks and 20 for the top half excluding the stocks with the highest valuation.
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.
JSE USD market closes week higher
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market climbed sharply on Friday, with an 877 percent jump in the volume of stocks changing hands with the value jumping 724 percent over Thursday, resulting in five securities trading, compared to just two on Thursday and ended with prices of four rising, one declining and no ending unchanged.
Overall, 1,282,434 shares were exchanged for US$220,084 compared with 131,288 units at US$26,722 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 256,487 units at US$44,017, up from 65,644 shares at US$13,361 on Thursday, with a month to date average of 263,810 shares at US$9,335 compared with 264,341 units at US$6,822 on the previous day. March ended with an average of 172,829 units for US$12,793.
The US Denominated Equities Index rallied 3.78 points to 243.09, with the market closing out the week higher than for the opening.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 10.2. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share rose 0.4 of a cent to 6.4 US cents after an exchange of 3,600 shares, 
Margaritaville gained 1.47 cents to end at 11.47 US cents after 8 stock units were swapped, Proven Investments gained 0.12 of a cent in closing at 16.2 US cents after 1,273,352 stock units were traded, Sterling Investments popped 0.01 of a cent in ending at 2.01 US cents in exchanging 474 units and Transjamaican Highway fell 0.01 of a cent to end at 1.29 US cents, with 5,000 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Transjamaican dominates JSE USD market
Heavy trading in shares of Transjamaican Highway lifted the volume of stocks changing hands by 1,409 percent valued 348 percent more than on Tuesday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Wednesday, with the stock price jumping to a record high of $1.30 and resulted in trading of five securities, compared to six on Tuesday with four rising and one unchanged.
Market activity resulted in an exchange of 1,049,056 shares for US$18,330 up from 69,500 units at US$4,092 on Tuesday.
Trading Wednesday averaged 209,811 units at US$3,666 versus 11,583 shares at US$682 on Tuesday, with a month to date average of 270,272 shares at US$6,627 compared with 275,148 units at US$6,866 on the previous trading day. March averaged 172,829 shares for US$12,793.
The US Denominated Equities Index popped 2.23 points to 242.88.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 10.4. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending between November 2022 and August 2023.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with a lower offer.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share remained at 6 US cents after 1,449 shares were traded, Proven Investments rallied 0.05 of a cent to end at 17.99 US cents after 28,959 stock units crossed the market, Sygnus Credit Investments gained 0.14 of a cent to close at 9.44 US cents in trading 1,147 units, Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share advanced 1.37 cents to 10.57 US cents with the swapping of just one unit of the stock and Transjamaican Highway climbed 0.2 of a cent to end at a 52 weeks’ high of 1.30 US cents after investors exchanged 1,017,500 units in reaction to positive 2022 full year results that points to increased profits in 2023.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
JSE USD Market closes higher on Tuesday
Trading dipped on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Tuesday, with the volume of stocks changing hands declining 80 percent valued 90 percent less than on Monday, and resulting in the trading of six securities, up from three on Monday with four rising, no declining and two ending unchanged.
Overall, 69,500 shares were traded for US$4,092 compared with 353,880 units at US$40,414 on Monday.
Trading averaged 11,583 units at US$682, down from 117,960 shares at US$13,471 on Monday, with a month to date average of 275,148 shares at US$6,866 compared to 303,387 units at US$7,528 on the previous day. March ended with an average of 172,829 units for US$12,793.
The US Denominated Equities Index increased by 6.12 points to close at 240.64.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.9. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price of each stock divided by projected earnings forecasts done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year 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 none with a lower offer.
At the close, First Rock Real Estate USD share ended at 6 US cents after an exchange of 48,393 shares, Proven Investments gained 1.86 cents to close trading at 17.94 US cents with an exchange of 832 units, Sterling Investments ended at 2 US cents after 11,912 stocks crossed the exchange, Sygnus Credit Investments popped 0.3 of a cent after ending at 9.3 US cents and trading 7,667 stock units and Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share increased 2.02 cents in closing at 9.2 US cents in trading 672 stocks.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group 6% climbed 2 cents to end at US$1.10 and closed with 24 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
