TechMARK movers: Parity stake buying boosts price

Shares in IT training and staffing firm Parity have bounced back following the announcement of share buying by returning chairman Philip Swinstead. Parity founder Swinstead has bought 3m shares, which takes his stake to 25.76%. Berry Asset Management has also bought 3m shares, thereby taking its stake to 16.05%. Earlier in the week the announcement of the departure of chief executive Alwyn Welch hit the share price. Paul Davies is returning as chief executive of Parity. He held the position between 1994 and 1999. There is likely to be a loss in the first half of 2010 even before the costs of restructuring the board. Parity needs to reduce its borrowings.Retinal imaging company Optos has fallen back following yesterday's interim figures. There was an improvement in gross margin but the figures were broadly in line with expectations. Revenues slipped by 1% to $47.3m in the six months to March 2010 but Optos returned to profit. The reported profit was $1.8m against a $4.9m loss in the first half of the previous year. Net debt was cut by $13.5m to $32.7m over the six months to March 2010. Cash generation will continue to be strong. Panmure Gordon believes the current share price makes the shares fairly valued.FTSE TechMARK - RisersParity Group (PTY) 7.63p +9.00%BTG (BGC) 163.60p +5.62%Logica (LOG) 124.40p +4.54%Vectura Group (VEC) 39.25p +3.97%Vislink (VLK) 18.00p +2.86%KCOM Group (KCOM) 42.00p +2.44%Torotrak (TRK) 23.00p +1.10%FTSE TechMARK - FallersNetwork Technology (NTY) 2,275.00p -8.08%E2V Technologies (E2V) 51.75p -5.91%Optos (OPTS) 120.00p -5.51%Triad Group (TRD) 26.00p -5.45%Asterand (ATD) 14.50p -4.92%Anite Group (AIE) 33.00p -4.35%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 168.25p -4.13%Phytopharm (PYM) 9.25p -3.95%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 260.00p -3.70%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 615.00p -3.61%