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RNS out this morning showing JPM Asset Management have raised their stake in HVO from 3% to over 5%. Another price of evidence showing that institutional investors are supporting the company. As we say in the City: “Follow the money”
Stt1
You state :
“CF dumped the majority of his holding in ONE go!! He bought 1m at 26.5p over 2.5yrs ago, which had just gone into profit.
That selling majority in ONE go, for a company supposedly growing strongly is not usual.”
My reply:
If you care to read the RNS regarding the placing (below) , you’ll see that CF and the related Directors DIDN’T SELL THE MAJORITY OF THEIR SHAREHOLDING IN ONE GO as you claim but “approximately 25% of their current shareholding” i.e. THEY RETAIN c. 75 % OF THEIR SHAREHOLDING” so either you didn’t bother to read the RNS or you’re lying. You obviously have an agenda against HVO which is your business but stop spreading lies and move on.
RNS
hVIVO plc (AIM & Euronext: HVO), the world leader in testing infectious and respiratory disease products using human challenge clinical trials, announces that it has been informed by certain Directors of the Company of their intention to sell, in aggregate, not less than 14,000,000 ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each ("Ordinary Shares") in the capital of Company (the "Placing Shares"), representing approximately 25% of their current shareholding, at a price of 28 pence per Placing Share (the "Placing") in order to satisfy strong institutional demand.
Each of Raglan Road Capital Limited and Raglan Securities Limited (two investment vehicles of Cathal Friel, Co-Founder and Chairman), Pamela Iyer (Cathal Friel's spouse), Horizon Medical Technologies Limited (an investment vehicle controlled by Cathal Friel but of which neither he nor his spouse has any beneficial ownership) and Brendan Buckley (Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director) (together, the "Selling Shareholders"), intend to participate in the Placing as the selling shareholders.
Stt1 .
Having a majority/controlling shareholder selling down his holding to other institutional investors is quite common and not necessarily a red flag. Look at Ryanair for example which was IPO in 1997. Mitchael O'Leary, the CEO used to own 18% of the airline then. Over the years, he has been steadily reducing his stake to 3.9% today. When the business was listed it was still loss making and about to turn profitable. Today Ryanair is by far the biggest (€23bn valuation) and most profitable airline in Europe (€13bn revenue, €1.7bn net profit) and still growing strongly. O’Leary’s 3.9% stake is worth a cool €900m today and he has been able to use his wealth to invest in other ventures (e.g. horse racing). Estate planning, spreading your investments & mitigating risk is part and parcel of the lives of successful entrepreneurs and wealthy investors. CF is doing exactly that. Although he has sold down his stake he remains a substantial investor in HVO and like the rest of us shareholders is looking forward to making money from his shareholding.
As for the CEO & CFO receiving stock options these are quite common to incentivise and retain the top management in competitive sectors . Look at RELX , for example, where I used to work (2010-18). The long standing CEO & CFO have received big stock options year in year out . In the meantime the share price has gone up from c. £5 in 2010 (when I joined) to £35 today. These two are still there, delivering great returns for shareholders and making themselves very rich in the process .
Reckon you should move on and deramp somewhere else .
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ryanair-flotation-to-place-300m-value-on-company-1.69666
The recent pull back in the share price is quite normal and healthy IMHO given the strong run over the past 12 month and the time needed to digest the recent stock placing. Having new institutional investors on board is a positive as they can see the strong fundamentals of the business over the medium term (growth market, HVO market leadership, improving margins, strong cash generation and balance sheet, income distribution etc) . Their support will be key to take HVO to the next level as they expand organically and via M&A. Have topped up my holding just above 25p and look forward to April when we’ll get the detailed 2023 results and dividend declaration.
I am as disappointed as any other shareholders by this presentation & Q&A. We did not get any clarity on funding, strategy, partnerships, milestones etc. It felt like they have almost given up with no fight left in them.
The bottom line is we still need to approve the lifting of the ceiling from 40% to 100% of issued capital for future capital increase to give them optionality. I would not be surprised if they have already a partner lined e.g. Merck to buy new shares, conditional to this approval.
It’s a right mess atm, but I still believe there is great value in 4D. The problem is when & who will be able to cristallise it.
Are you talking about POLX or ORPH? I cannot see the TR-1 on LSE. Where did you see that, please? Thanks
The CEO also confirmed that they expect Liberum to be appointed as the new Nomad for ORPH in the next couple of weeks, once the due diligence work is complete. Shame this issue has overshadowed the good RNS today about the contract win.
Personally, I would like the presentation to coincide with a major RNS. Following the recent partnership announcement for Korea, Management hinted that they were now working on a deal “closer to home”. To me , this means a partnership deal for EU/UK were they already have received clearance with the EC Mark. It is bad time they put flesh on the bone and unveil their commercial strategy for Europe, including the UK. Ideally, we will hear about partners, launch dates and possible milestone payments & royalties. GLA
The last RNS said that they had to postpone the release of their full year results (to the end of June 2021) to « before the end of December » due to the change of auditors & Covid related issues. Expect investors are now anticipating these results anytime. Personally, I expect a big accounting kitchen sink with some asset write-offs but this is backward looking so not worried. The new management have had time to work on a new strategy and will probably announce some new business & financial targets. Exciting times ahead!
You’re welcome Blue83. I used to work as a fund manager in the City so I know how volatile & unpredictable the market can be during the Summer lull. Anyway, on Nasdaq the stock has already recovered from -22% to -5% currently. Fingers crossed this was just a storm in a tea cup!
In the absence of news (let’s wait and see), the -20% share price drop seems to have originated from the US. The stock got hit at the open by a -80k sale which compares to a daily average volume of 40k. It could be a forced seller or someone placing big bets in the options market. Anyway, this high volatility is typical of August time when institutional investors are on holiday and trading is mainly driven by smaller/private investors. Hence, most companies tend to avoid releasing market sensitive news at that time and prefer to wait until September to communicate. Obviously, Management have a duty to release any unexpected news, good or bad, as soon as it is known. Fingers crossed this is not the case today.
RNS just out. The company will give a trading update on Thursday 8th July. Also announced a change of auditors for the financial year 2021/22. Proposal to appoint a new UK based auditor vs Australian previously. It does make sense as the bulk of the business is UK based.
In-depth sector report, covering all companies involved in the covid-19 testing sector. YGEN one of the stocks covered. https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/939174/diagnostics-sector-set-to-continue-to-see-growth-in-2021-and-2022-says-broker-finncap-939174.html
$LOAC closed up +6.5% on Nasdaq tonight and currently up +1.5% after hours so up +8.0% overall. Expect 4D to have a good day tomorrow. GLA