I hope you missed us. If you're wondering why you didn't receive your InceConnect mailers over the past two days, it's because the Ince team was making upgrades to the system.
With that behind us, it's back to normal programming where you can look forward to InceConnect on a daily basis.
Of course, the market didn't stop just because we did. That leaves me with a tricky situation this morning where I theoretically needed to choose just one or two of the most interesting stories from the entire week to focus on.
I couldn't do it.
Instead, I've written an article that you can use to catch up on as much of the important news as possible. You will need a strong coffee. If you don't drink coffee, I'm afraid I have no other suggestions. I can help you with the markets but I can't work miracles for you.
One of the most popular companies on the JSE at the moment is Aveng, which retail investors have latched onto as an exciting way to gamble in the market. I must use that word, as the price bounces all over the place. It's the quintessential penny stock.
A quick look at the numbers earlier this week shows why there is excitement around Aveng. Headline earnings improved to R751m after a R950m headline loss last year. There's a net cash position of R1.1bn after Aveng tapped the market heavily this year with capital raises.
With Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS) of 2 cents per share, investors would do well to remember the risks here when assessing the share price. At 6 cents per share for example, Aveng is trading on a P/E of 3x and certainly isn't the only JSE-listed company currently trading at that kind of multiple.
The construction business is still losing tons of money, with the recovery driven by the Australian business along with the mining and steel divisions. Perhaps the story of the past year is best summarised by looking at the number of shares in issue: 64.7m at June 2021 vs. just 19.4m at June 2020!
Because there are so many more shares in issue, the share price chart going back several years is essentially meaningless.
Aveng is categorised in the "fun money" basket at the moment - money that people can afford to lose. Those who bought at just 1 cent per share are having the most fun thus far!
To further improve your Friday, we welcome back the DealMakers team. There are two opinion pieces: one on ESG's increasing influence and the other on data privacy in M&A transactions. The team also touches on the M&A transactions this week in the third article from the DealMakers stable.
Finally, Currency Assist gives an update on the latest fo rex rates and some of the big individual moves on the JSE yesterday.
I'm certainly looking forward to a normal week next week and I hope you are too. Have a great weekend!
The Finance Ghost
