Sunday share tips: Trident Royalties, EKF Diagnostics

(Sharecast News) - The Financial Mail on Sunday's Midas column recommends buying stock in Trident Royalties, touting soaring metals' prices and "bright" prospects.
Prices for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel had all run higher over the past year or so, with those for the former metal more than doubling.

And to demand from the recovering global economy one needed to add the massive infrastructure programmes planned in China, the US and UK.

Trident is what is known as a mining royalty finance firm, lending capital to miners in exchange for a cut of their revenues once they start producing.

But unlike most rivals, it was focused on a range of metals mining operations spanning the globe.

Its focus is also pretty unique, targeting the underserved segment of smaller royalty deals of between $500,000 and $28m in size.

Trident had also proven adept thus far at securing "decent" prices and selecting assets that had increased in value since they were acquired.

The company was also hoping to start a dividend programme within the next few years.

"Metal prices are soaring and prospects are bright. Trident offers broad exposure to the commodities sector at an attractive 34p price. Buy."



The Sunday Times's Sabah Meddings told readers to follow the lead of EKF Diagnostics chairman, Christoper Mills, and take some profits in shares of the diagnostic test manufacturer.

In April, Mills had trimmed his stake in the firm from 29.7% to 29.0%, slightly "spooking" the City.

The company specialises in point of care tests that allow physicians to fund out in real time if patients are suffering from conditions ranging from anaemia, diabetes or sepsis.

It was also a so-called 'Covid stock', manufacturing testing kits for the virus for Public Health England, the Irish government and private clients.

Its sales jumped 45% last year to reach £65.3m, with 40% accounted for by Covid-related sales.

Yet sales of its clinical chemistry, diabetes and haematology products all fell, as patients demured from visiting doctors for screening tests.

Furthermore, sources had suggested to Meddings that Mills had a long-term plan to diversify his portfolio and that he was likely to sell more if the good news continued.

On the flip-side, it was widely speculated that the "mystery global partner" with which it had recently inked a multi-million dollar contract was Amazon.

"Not bad going for a company that was a penny stock five years ago," Meddings mused.

The company also had £30m of cash and investments and was launching a product to test for sepsis, which claimed 48,000 lives in the UK each year.

Expectations were that it was also set to launch a plan to double core earnings over the next three to four years.

Even so, for the tipster, "the question is whether its share price will get a dose of reality once the demand for testing is over.

"For now, investors would be wise to follow Mills and take profits."