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Penny Share Review 247

Monday 09 August 2004

The Sunday Telegraph's Edmond Jackson talked about share options granted to Directors and concluded that investors should take note of the price and timing, as they might indicate future newsflow since boards are opportunistic with option grants. He gave Planestation (PTG) as an example, which granted its CEO options at 4.47p on May 5, and pointed out that the shares soared from late May, after a deal with Eujet was confirmed. The Company granted 5m options to its corporate affairs director last week. However, he also noted that in recovery situations, investors should think carefully why directors might not want to assume financial risks and opt for the options, which are not the same as risking money in shares at the market price. He said that non-executive directors who grant options immediately after a share price collapse do a disservice to executives because they are being branded as opportunists, not partners. On this note he mentioned that an Advanced Technology (AVT.L) shareholder was soliciting support on the ADVFN bulletin board to remove some directors via an EGM. Mr Jackson is planning to vote against the re-election of Clare Spottiswoode as a non-executive director at the Company's forthcoming annual meeting, as he is questioning why she granted options as chair of the remuneration committee. Shares in Advanced Technology were unchanged this morning at 6p, while Planestation's shares were down by 3.4% to 5.63p.

The Daily Telegraph on Saturday featured Ennstone's (ENN) plans to buy Johnston Group and recapped on shareholders Mirabaud Investment Management's (9.28% stake), and North Atlantic Value's (6.91% stake) wish to have an investment bank appointed "to solicit potential buyers offering in excess of 42p per share", which would value Ennstone over £75m. The North Atlantic concert party reckons the bid for Johnston is too generous and claims to have the support of 40% of the Company's shareholders. The stock was unchanged at 34.25p on Monday morning.

According to the FT (7/8 August), analysts expect the 10-year agreement with Idexx, providing it with Opti blood analysers, to help Osmetech (OMH) reach profitability by 2007. The shares moved down by 1.9% to 3.98p on Monday.

The FT (7/8 August) recapped on Fulcrum Pharma's (FUL) trading update, which warned that results for the year to August would fall well below expectations. The stock was unchanged at 4.38p on Monday morning.

The Independent reported ahead of Mean Fiddler's (MEF.L) announcement, which revealed that it has sold £10m of tickets for the bank holiday weekend events. Shares in the Company fell by 0.5p to 46.5p on Monday.

The Guardian on Saturday reported on Accident Exchange's (ACE) trading, which is significantly ahead of market expectations. The equity was up 0.5p to 67.50p on Monday morning.

In an article about short selling, the Independent reported that enquiry into bear raids on Griffin Mining (GFM) revealed the cause as short-sellers in Berlin. The shares were unchanged at 17.75p on Monday.

The Daily Mail on Saturday wrote that Ofex's (OFX.L) founder and Chairman John Jenkins was to retire as soon as a replacement could be found and that he would take up the position of honorary life president. Shares in Ofex were unchanged at 21p on Monday morning.

Monday morning prices quoted above were taken at just after 10.25am on 9 August 2004.

Announcements

The following companies, in which City Equities customers may have an interest, released announcements to the market this morning. These can be found by entering the relevant company name or ticker code in the search box on this site.

Henderson Morley (HML) - Holding in Company.
Hidefield (HIF) - Grant of Options.
Mean Fiddler (MEF.L) - Festival Update.
Petrel Resources (PET) - Statement re. Press Comment.
Pipex Communications (PXC.L) - Acquisition & Trading Update.
Planestation (PTG) - Holding(s) in Company.
Symphony Plastic (SYM) - Contract.
Teleunit (TLU) - Acquisition.

Look out for this week

Monday, 9 August - UK: Producer Prices (Jul), ODPM house prices (Jun), BRC sales monitor (Jul).

Tuesday, 10 August -UK: Consumer Price Indices (Jul), Trade in goods and services (Jun), US: FOMC interest rate decision.

Wednesday, 11 August - UK: Average Earnings (Jun), BoE inflation report, Unemployment (Jul).

Thursday, 12 August - Ger, France: GDP (Q2). US: Jobless claims, Retail sales (Jul), FOMC minutes.

Friday, 13 August - US: PPI (Jul), Trade balance. Eurozone: GDP (Q2).

The next Penny Share Review will be posted on Monday, 16 August 2004.

Compiled by ÖZLEM McCANN

Penny Shares Online - penny shares research and information service.




Risk Warning

There is an extra risk of losing money when shares are bought in some smaller companies including 'Penny Shares'. There is a big difference between the buying price and the selling price of these shares. If they have to be sold immediately, you may get back much less than you paid for them or you may have difficulty in selling them. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The price may change quickly and it may go down as well as up. You could lose every penny put into a particular share.

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