Stock Market Review: July 17, 2023

Ruth Ibikunle

The stock market last week close on a bearish note, shedding 0.75%. Year to date, the market has returned 22.08% with the All Share Index and Market Capitalisation at 62,569.73 points and N34.07 trillion respectively.

In a stock market review with the MD/CEO of Global View Capital Limited, Aruna Kebira, the following were discussed:

Excerpts:

The market eventually closed the week on a bearish note, shedding 0.75%. What is the outlook for the coming weeks?

The graph of the stock market is never smooth and straight and will never be. We have been witnessing the Bull’s rampage since May 30, 2023, after the inauguration of the present government.

Stock prices have risen so much that some have returned up to a 3000% appreciation in prices. As the prices continue to set new 52-week highs every trading day, it will get to a point where the market and investors will consider that stocks are overpriced.

The investors will now ask themselves, if you purchase this stock at this price, at what price do you want to exit and make a profit?

At that juncture, the current position holders would want to book their profits before the market takes a reversed direction. In that frenzy, there would be panic and sell pressure.

When prices are going higher a number of investors would stay at the borderlines, watching and waiting and there would always be the need for the market to decline to pave the way for this class of investor to enter into the market.

The market made an attempt on Friday to rebound, I am of the opinion that the prices we saw last Friday would be the prices at which the market would bottom out and the next direction we would experience is an upward trend.

Access Bank has completed the acquisition of an Angola-based Financial Institution. The bank has also announced the proposed acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank’s subsidiaries in 5 African Countries. What should we expect from Access Bank in the nearest future based on these acquisitions?

Access Bank has been on an aggressive acquisition of businesses all over the world. The good thing about them is that for each acquisition, the synergetic effect of such ventures continues to be on the increase.

Access is growing in such a way that all the analytical indexes of the bank’s financials are upward and forward-looking.

They topped the cake with good icing when they declare a final dividend of N1.30 and I know the market is waiting for what they will come out with in their Q2 2023 earnings release.

If the growth trajectory of the bank is still maintained at the current tempo, as we have said before, Access will change its class and peer group finally by upgrading itself to the class of Zenith and GTCO.

Mark my words.

What is pushing the price of Daar Communications?

DAAR Communication has been at the car park price for as long as I can remember. The founder and owner Chief Raymond Dopesi has passed and it is believed that the company will breathe fresh air as there is going to be a new Board and management put in place.

It is often said that when there is a new government, there are new laws and the market is believing that there could be substance in the next Board and Management of the company.

And again, when there is a good market, all stocks become good as we have seen such stocks that have not released their quarterly and annual returns, for upward of two years, enjoying the rally in the market until the sledgehammer of the exchange moved to suspend trading in their shares.

At least DAAR Communications is enjoying such patronage and it seems that they have been able to stay afloat in the release of their returns.

All the banking stocks went down last week due to profit-taking. What is the best entry price for FBNH, Access, UBA, Zenith, GTCO, Fidelity, Wema, and FCMB?

The rally and the rampage of the Bulls hit the banking stocks the most and it is also expected that a reversal would also hit them in equal measure and capacity.

I don’t think that it is a surprise to discerning and experienced investors in the Nigerian Capital market.  And the saying goes that whatever goes up must come down and also whatever comes down must go up.

The prices at which these stocks closed on Friday are good to go and when the market turns around, it would appear like cherry-picking for those who are bold to take a position in these stocks at the closing price of Friday, July 14, 2023.

The share buy-back announcement of Dangote Cement pushed the price to N335 last week. How attractive is this stock at the current price?

Share buyback helps to reduce the outstanding share of an organization and thereby helps the growth of their EPS and can cause scarcity and reduce the float in the market. And if this happens the price would appreciate commensurately to the quantum of the share buyback.

Don’t forget that this year’s share buyback is not the first for the company. As they get closer to the share buyback target, the units become scarce in the market and the price will appreciate accordingly.

At the current price, it is difficult to ascertain whether it would be its highest price possible because the stock price touched N360.70 in the course of the week but succumbed to the prevailing sell pressure and profit-taking in the market to close at N335.00.

The stock price has the potential of touching N400.00 if the performance is commensurate to the reduction of the share in issue and if there is tremendous growth in the EPS and a commensurate dividend payout by the company.

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