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25 Jan 21

boohoo Group plc (BOO LN) - Transformational acquisition

The acquisition and planned relaunch of Debenhams online business is a transformational deal for the Group, establishing an ecommerce marketplace of immediate scale and high brand awareness. The deal expands boohoo’s target addressable market and opens the Group up to new product categories including beauty, sport and homeware. It is a significant step forwards in realising the Group’s ambition to operate the UK’s largest ecommerce marketplace, combining boohoo’s online capability and multi-brand platform with Debenhams leading brand recognition and extensive established network of third-party brand partnerships.

Companies: boohoo group Plc

21 Jan 21

Somero Enterprises - Strong Q4, robust cash performance

The group’s year-end update points to stronger than expected Q4 trading, boosted by robust sales in North America that translated efficiently to upside on profitability expectations. Cash performance has once again been stellar, resulting in net cash of $35m, considerably higher than forecast, partly profit drop-through and partly from tight working capital management. We are therefore upgrading our FY 2020 EPS by 25% to 33.2ȼ. The strong cash position also results in a boost to the total dividend, giving a dividend yield of 6.7%. We raise our price target from 285p to 435p, based on a target P/E of 17.0x offering upside to the current P/E of 13.8x.

Companies: Somero Enterprises, Inc.

19 Jan 21

EBITDA ahead on strong financial performance

Kape has issued a trading update for what was a very productive year for the Group and in which it exhibited a strong trading performance. Revenue for FY 2020E is expected to be at the top end of the expected range while Adjusted EBITDA is ahead of guidance. We increase our estimates by 1% and 8% respectively to be in line with the anticipated outturn for the year. It now has around 2.5m paying subscribers across its core markets of North America and Europe. Kape also completed the integration of Private Internet Access (PIA) ahead of schedule and launched new products, including its privacy suite. Kape expects to increase R&D spending further in FY 2021E to build on the successful additions to its product range and customer experience. With good momentum going into FY 2021E, the Group continues to demonstrate its ability to drive customer numbers and retention through the execution of a clear strategy for meeting the growing demand from consumers for digital privacy and security solutions.

Companies: Kape Technologies Plc

04 Jan 21

Cenkos: HeiQ Plc - Pioneering materials for life

HeiQ is a materials innovation technology company, marketing products that increase the functionality of technical, medical and consumer textiles. The company's core products are at the leading edge of innovating the c$25bn textile chemicals market, while the recently launched antimicrobial technology, HeiQ Viroblock, enables the forward integration into the c$10bn antimicrobial textile market and OTC textile medical devices. The company is grounded on three strategic success factors, materials innovation, mass manufacturing and ingredient brand marketing, which will support the company's ambition to grow its revenues from $30m to $300m in the medium term. HeiQ has listed on London's Main Market via a reverse takeover, raising £20m in new equity. We initiate coverage with a BUY.

Companies: HeiQ PLC

26 Jan 21

Cenkos: HeiQ Plc -- Trading update upgrade

HeiQ has provided a trading update for the year to December 2020, expecting sales to be above market expectations and operating profit to be ‘in line with market expectations' after record levels of investment in the business in the second half to support future growth. We have upgraded our FY20E revenue forecasts following this announcement, raising our sales by c14% to $49.1m while maintaining our operating profit (pre-exceptionals) at $12.2m. At this time, we have left our FY21E P&L forecasts unchanged, maintaining our conservative approach to forecasting. We reiterate our Buy recommendation with today's announcement supporting this view.

14 Jan 21

boohoo Group plc (BOO LN) - Strong peak trading

Boohoo has delivered strong results over the peak trading period for the four months ended 31 December 2020. Group revenue is +40% YOY, with robust growth seen across all brands and regions. The Agenda for Change programme is progressing at pace, demonstrating the Group’s commitment to setting a new standard for ethical supply chains in the fashion industry.

Companies: boohoo group Plc

21 Jan 21

A full house

An H1 trading update to December confirms a strong start to FY21, with sales growth accelerating to 22% y/y – a material rebound from a Covid impacted 2H20 (+9% y/y) and +15% achieved prior to this. KPI‘s are strong across the piece, for instance every Geo grew >20%, Connector revenue grew +20% (Shopify: +115%) and ‘enhanced functionality‘ revs grew +20% also. It‘s genuinely hard to find fault with this performance. To us, this evidences how DOTD is executing on its strategy (around products, partners and Geo‘s) while also benefitting from strong thematic tailwinds benefitting its sector and end-markets. We leave recently upgraded FY21 forecasts unchanged, though note the strong H1 sales performance now requires an undemanding +14% y/y growth to hit N+1 estimates, so see upgrade/ outperformance potential. As well as DOTD‘s clear organic growth opportunities, we also highlight how cash continues to accumulate (now £27.6m) and could be deployed in a number of vectors.

Companies: dotDigital Group plc

20 Jan 21

Surface Transforms - SCE raises funds for future expansion

SCE is raising £20m through a placing and open offer as the future commercial pipeline now justifies building the next manufacturing cell (“Cell 2”). Cell 2 will essentially double production capacity and transform the potential of the business. When operating at full capacity, we estimate that SCE would be capable of £35m revenues, £15m EBIT and £12.5m Earnings. This would equate to EV/EBIT of 7.1x and P/E of 9.5x based on the enlarged capital base. Recent trading updates have highlighted that trading is strong and in line with expectations, while longer term ASP expectations have increased significantly.

Companies: Surface Transforms plc

21 Jan 21

Sumo Group (SUMO LN) - Strong, broad-based growth

Sumo is trading strongly, with several drivers that could lead the company to outperform 2021 earnings expectations, in our view. Even based on conservative earnings expectations, we believe shares offer attractive value to growth.

Companies: Sumo Group Plc

26 Jan 21

Ergomed - PrimeVigilance excels; CRO strengthened in US

Ergomed’s H220 trading update highlights a successful end to 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing restrictions for much of the year. Total revenues were £86.4m (up 26.5%). Like-for-like revenues in the PrimeVigilance segment grew 30% (or 56% including the acquisition in January 2020). Unsurprisingly, the CRO segment was flat. However, in H220 revenues were up 11.2% over H120 and up 15.2% y-o-y. Ergomed’s key markets are the US and Europe, where vaccine deployment should be relatively efficient, so we expect the CRO segment to rebound throughout 2021. The recent MedSource acquisition will also significantly add to the 2021 top line. Because of the well-balanced pharma services offering (pharmacovigilance and CRO), Ergomed has proved to be a resilient business with further growth prospects intact, in our view. Net positive revisions to our estimates and an expansion of peer multiples have led to an upgrade of our valuation to £501m or 1,113p/share (from 845p/share previously).

Companies: Ergomed PLC

20 Jan 21

Capital Access' Hot Off The Wires - The Day Ahead

Today's news & views, plus announcements from BRBY, BHB, DPLM, IWG,GFTU, CMCX, JDW, GFRD, BGO

Companies: Bango plc (BGO:LON)Galliford Try Holdings PLC (GFRD:LON)

21 Jan 21

IQE - FY20 revenues ahead of November guidance

IQE has announced it expects FY20 revenues to be c £178m. This is ahead of our estimates, which we revised upwards in November, reflecting outperformance in both the wireless and photonics segments. We have updated our FY20 forecasts. Given IQE’s leveraged business model, this results in a 64% uplift in EPS. Noting the uncertainty about the effect of a pandemic-related recession on the rate of smartphone sales growth, we leave our FY21 estimates unchanged for the time being.

Companies: IQE plc

12 Jan 21

THE MONTHLY January 2021

Although 2020 will probably go down in history as one of the most challenging years experienced during our lifetime, it will also likely be chronicled as one of the best years for the recognition and appreciation of science. As we entered 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was in its infancy. However, it rapidly evolved through the exponential rise in infections and mortality globally. Much has been achieved during the past 12 months in the fight against COVID-19, but, as we enter 2021, there are considerable concerns about the emergence of a mutant version of the virus and the second wave that we are now facing.

Companies: AVO ARBB ARIX BBGI CLIG DNL FLTA ICGT OCI PCA PIN PHP RECI STX SCE TRX SHED VTA YEW

25 Jan 21

Cenkos: Inspiration Healthcare Group Plc -- Revenue and profit upgrade

Inspiration Healthcare has announced it expects revenues and profits for the year ending January 2021 to be ahead of market expectations. Revenues are expected to be at least £36.5m and adjusted EBITDA at least £4.9m. We have moved our FY21E forecasts into line with these expectations, which are c3% and c11% ahead of our previous forecasts for sales and adjusted EBITDA, respectively. We note the key driver of the upgrade was performance at S.L.E., which Inspiration Healthcare acquired in July 2020. We reiterate our Buy recommendation on Inspiration Healthcare.

Companies: Inspiration Healthcare Group PLC

25 Jan 21

Trackwise Designs - Year-end slowdown in sales

Trackwise has announced that it expects FY20 revenues to be c £6.1m, which is lower than our estimate, reflecting disruptions to supply chains caused by tighter coronavirus restrictions and uncertainty about the Brexit deal. However, careful cost control means that management expects adjusted operating losses to be c £0.2m, in line with our estimates. We have updated our FY20 forecasts but leave our FY21 estimates, which are underpinned by an order worth up to £38m over three years from a UK electric vehicle (EV) OEM, unchanged.

Companies: Trackwise Designs Plc

26 Jan 21

Record - AUME now over $70bn

Record’s assets under management (AUME) reached over $70bn for the first time at the end of December, reflecting a combination of net flows and market, foreign exchange and scaling moves in Q321. The pattern of flows has increased the diversity of revenues while the benefits of initiatives to increase the breadth of product offering are yet to come; the launch of the Currency Impact Fund is due soon and a pipeline of other potential products is in development, supported by technology investment.

Companies: Record plc

26 Jan 21

Finsbury Growth & Income Trust - ‘Perfectly rational to do nothing if you are unsure’

Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT) is celebrating its 20th anniversary under the management of Nick Train. While underperforming in recent months, the trust is ahead of the broad UK market over the last one, three, five and 10 years. Stock market volatility in 2020 afforded the manager an opportunity to add another new name to the fund, credit bureau Experian, which he considers a rare example of a globally significant UK company that is benefiting from the optimisation of its vast database. Train is sticking to his tried-and-tested process that incorporates three rules of thumb: ‘if a company’s products taste good, buy the shares; the world will never be bored of being informed or entertained; and the pros are always too cautious about the stock market’.

Companies: Finsbury Growth & Income Trust

26 Jan 21

Cenkos: Personal Group Holdings Plc -- Robust FY20 delivery

Personal Group's trading update indicates delivery of a solid FY20E result, an outcome better than expected earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, reflective of the group's robust recurring revenues. Strategic progress has been made in the year with new client wins, greater diversification and Sage Employee Benefits (SEB) now moving to a paid-for model. The short-term outlook for FY21 is uncertain, given reduced new Insurance sales this year, however we view this as a temporary headwind resulting from lockdown restrictions, which will be lifted in time. With evidence of traction across the group, we remain positive, but current uncertainty (lockdowns, claims etc) means we maintain an U/R recommendation.

Companies: Personal Group Holdings Plc

26 Jan 21

Strong Q4 20, financial targets exceeded, shift from dividends to share buy-backs

Net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 122% to $1.7bn for Q4 20 clearly above consensus UBS switched its payout focus from dividend to share buy-backs Dividend per share decreased from CHF0.73 to CHF0.37 for FY2020, new three-year share buy-back programme (2021-23) of up to CHF4bn compared to CHF2bn before A decision at the French tax fraud case is now expected in H1 21

Companies: UBS Group AG

26 Jan 21

SP Angel Healthcare Conditions- 26-01-2021

Companies: MRNA ABDX FARN

26 Jan 21

High margin production growth strategy

Bucking the trend of many of its peers, Mosman Oil & Gas (‘Mosman’ or ‘the Company’) enjoyed a year of operational development in 2020. Against a challenging market backdrop, the Company successfully transitioned into a low cost, high margin producer, exiting the year with a transformed production profile. Recent positive news flow has seen Mosman’s share price rally over 30% YTD alone, however we believe there remains considerable running room in the stock for investors. We therefore initiate coverage with a BUY rating, setting a 0.42p/share risked target price.

Companies: Mosman Oil & Gas Ltd.

26 Jan 21

Oil & Gas Daily Flow

Mosman Oil & Gas*, BUY, (MSMN LN): Initiation of Coverage | Global Petroleum (GBP LN): Significant upgrade in Prospective Resources, offshore Namibia | Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas*, STRONG BUY, (ECO LN): Eco diversifies into European renewables | SDX Energy (SDX LN): Slight curtailment in production guidance, comfortable liquidity position | Premier Oil (PMO LN): Successful farm out of the Tuna PSC, Indonesia

Companies: MSMN GBP EOG SDX PMO

26 Jan 21

Centaur Media – executive interview

26 Jan 21

SP Angel Morning View: Chinese provinces set high growth targets as Beijing drives infrastructure development

Altus Strategies* (ALS LN) - BUY – 132p – High grade drilling results to grow Diba MRE Anglo Asian Mining* (AAZ LN) - BUY – 1.5c special dividend Petropavlovsk (POG LN) – FY20 production report Rambler Metals and Mining* (RMM LN) – 2020 production results and outlook

Companies: ALS AAZ POG RMM

26 Jan 21

Carr's Group - Local, international and sustainable

Diversification means Carr’s Group provides essential infrastructure to the global nuclear industry and occupies a critical position in food supply chains in the UK, the US and Europe. As a result, almost all of its businesses have remained operational during the coronavirus pandemic. While group profitability was adversely affected by the low oil price caused by the pandemic, we see potential for recovery driven by greater penetration of international markets for animal feed supplements during FY21 and a return to more normal oil prices from FY22 onwards.

Companies: Carr's Group PLC

26 Jan 21

Leader in rapid testing

Abingdon is a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) providing outsourced services to the diagnostics industry with a focus on rapid point-of-care tests. It is a recent IPO, having floated on AIM in December, raising £22m at 96p to fund a capex programme to increase automated manufacturing capacity threefold to ~150m lateral flow devices pa. Its expertise in the field saw it approached by the UK Government to lead and form the UK Rapid Test Consortium (UK-RTC) and design and manufacture at scale rapid antibody tests to measure population-level infection rates of Covid-19. The pandemic has driven a material step change in demand for lateral flow tests generally and has catalysed a number of other Covid and non-Covid opportunities.

Companies: Abingdon Health PLC

26 Jan 21

Positive conclusion to FY20

Itaconix has confirmed a positive conclusion to FY20, with revenue, EBITDA and net cash all slightly ahead of expectations. This builds on the positive trends reported in October’s interims, driven by successful customer product launches. Itaconix enters FY21 with good momentum and strong sustainability credentials. We plan to introduce FY21 forecasts alongside full year results.

Companies: Itaconix plc

26 Jan 21

Introducing FY21 forecasts

We introduce FY21 forecasts this morning, cautiously assuming a continuation of current activity levels. As indicated in last Friday’s trading update, revenue stabilised at £2m per quarter in Q4’20 and Q1’21, reflecting current lower levels of demand caused by the COVID pandemic. We assume that EBITDA remains positive for the balance of the year, benefitting from the reorganisation and cost reduction measures implemented by management last year. This has served to protect the balance sheet with the result that we expect only a negligible reduction in the strong net cash position in the current year (£13.5m net cash forecast for September 2021). The timing of the recovery remains difficult to predict but we believe Zytronic is well positioned to weather the downturn before returning to growth.

Companies: Zytronic plc

26 Jan 21

Capital Access' Hot Off The Wires - The Day Ahead

Today's news & views, plus announcements from RR, CRST, CMCX, APAX, PMO, AEXG, WHR

Companies: AEX CRST PMO

26 Jan 21

MAP23: FY’20E update and "The flagship four"

Centaur’s trading update highlights revenues and EBITDA in-line with guidance. Revenue from continuing operations declined 16% y/y to c.£32m, encouraging in the context of CV19 impact to events sales and retail and fashion end-markets. Premium content has remained resilient, with Mini-MBA growth (H1: >100% y/y) a stand-out for the Group during FY’20E, whilst renewals in The Lawyer were also positive (105% net renewal rate). The Group exits 2020 with a healthy net cash position (£8.3m) and resilient FY’20E performance giving management the confidence to introduce its MAP23 strategy, targeting 23% EBITDA and “at least” £45m of sales by FY’23E. Reintroduced N1S forecasts generate £45.3m of sales and £10.5m of adj EBITDA, with FY’23E FCF of £6.5m representing a 24% FCF yield.

Companies: Centaur Media plc