NCC Group (NCC) shares ticked up 6.55% to 308.5p following ‘strategic’ acquisiton
Shares in the IT security company increased in value despite having no news out; however in recent weeks, analysts at Canaccord Genuity upgraded the company from 'hold' to 'buy', raising their target price on the stock from 265.0p to 318.0p following its acquisition of IPM.
The group informed investors last month that it had signed an agreement to acquire the intellectual property management business (IPM) of Iron Mountain, a leading provider of software resilience services to a large and diverse US market, for $220 million or £156 million.
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity, who view the acquisition as ‘strategic’ wrote that the addition of IPM had set the company up “to be the number one in escrow services in the US and UK.”
"We view the Dec 20 acquisition exit multiples of 6.7x EV/sales and 10x EV/EBITDA as good value for a highly profitable, cash-generative and extremely complementary business," it said.
Filtronic (FTC) shares soared 17.07% to 12p as research highlights stock’s potential growth
Shares in the group which designs and manufactures telecommunication products soared on Monday following the publication of equity research from Edison Investment Research which had previously been engaged by Filtronic to produce regular, in-depth research on the group.
‘Given the current underutilisation of manufacturing capacity, we see scope for successful execution of management’s sales initiative to deliver revenue growth and improvement in EBITDA margin during FY22, potentially driving an uplift in the share price,’ analysts wrote.
The group said the objective of the research is to raise the visibility of Filtronic and enable investors of all classes, internationally, to develop an improved understanding of the business.
Directa Plus (DCTA) shares jumped 10.00% to 132p as customer forms Italian division
The company informed shareholders that its customer NexTech Batteries Inc. has formed a wholly owned Italian subsidiary, NexTech Italia SpA. It said the move follows an MOU between Directa Plus and NexTech, agreed in October 2020, to test G+® products in the synthesis of cathode active materials for NexTech's first generation of Li-S batteries.
The initial objective of the subsidiary is to evaluate the feasibility of producing cathode active materials in Italy, using Directa Plus's G+® graphene nanoplatelets, for the manufacture of Lithium-Sulphur batteries within Europe to accelerate the technology's commercialisation.
Directa Plus highlighted that the company’s experience in Italy and throughout Europe means that it is well placed to help NexTech find the right permanent location where technology and expertise converge to support NexTech's establishment and growth in Europe.
Tungsten Corporation (TUNG) shares rose 9.04% to 38.9p following ‘strategic’ customer win
The company has been selected by an unnamed global human resources software leader whose turnover is $14bn, to support its new e-invoicing initiative in Europe and the U.S..
The customer’s 16 European entities will use Tungsten's Total AR solution to streamline and digitise its accounts receivable processes. In the US, the solution will allow the client to send invoices to its customers via the Tungsten Network, eliminating manual invoice entry systems.
Dave Hazard, Global Sales Director of Tungsten Network has described the news as a ‘strategic win’. He said: "Our global footprint, combined with our partnership with FIS Worldpay (which has given Tungsten payment execution as part of its platform of solutions),
was a key factor in our successful appointment, as this was a requirement for the Customer.”
IWG (IWG) shares fell by 8.40% to 335.4p as company warns investors over trading recovery
IWG, a firm which has been largely affected by the pandemic, stated in a trading update that whilst it has witnessed strong recovery across some of its markets, the overall improvement in occupancy across the whole company has been lower than previously anticipated as a result of the prolonged impact of COVID-19, including, inter alia, continuing lockdown restrictions.
Accordingly, this is expected to delay the anticipated recovery in its business and, given the operational gearing of the Group, is expected to have a significant impact on its 2021 results, with underlying Group EBITDA for 2021 now expected to be well below the level in 2020.
The group said it has seen ‘positive momentum’ within markets where COVID-19 related restrictions are easing such as the United States. Looking ahead, the company added that the Board's expectations for a strong recovery in 2022 remain ‘broadly unchanged’ and that the business continues to maintain a strong financial position with ‘significant liquidity.’