Micro Focus International (LON:MCRO ) shares rose 14% to 491.35p after Amazon nod
Shares in the global software firm jumped since the news hit that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has given the group its full vote of confidence for helping businesses migrate to the cloud.
As a result of the news which was announced on Thursday, at 3 p.m. EST, Micro Focus stock had increased by 17%, but had even traded as much as 25% higher during Friday trading.
According to US publication, the Motley Fool, Amazon told investors that it had handpicked several businesses to help companies move their operations on Amazon Web Services (AWS) blog post, citing Micro Focus as one of the four pre-qualified technology partners.
‘While there's no indication yet for what this means for Micro Focus' revenue going forward, it surely won't hurt. Considering the company posted a 10% year-over-year decline in revenue for fiscal 2020, this might be a catalyst to help it return to growth,’ the publication wrote.
IMImobile (AIM:IMO ) shares soared 47.33% to 593p as it delivers ‘strong momentum’
In its half-year results for the six months ended 30 September 2020 the group said it delivered strong momentum in gross profit and particularly ‘encouraging progress’ in North America.
In a separate announcement released this morning, the company announced that it has agreed to a US$730 million takeover by IT giant Cisco System Holdings (NASDAQ:CSCO).
The cloud communications software specialist told investors that its board has now recommended a 595p-per-share cash offer, which compares to a previous close of 402.5p.
The company said the takeover was in response to the world of increasing customer expectations in a competitive market where businesses now compete on products and services, but also on the quality of the interactive experience they can offer to their customers.
‘In order to improve the understanding, analysis and optimisation of customer journeys, Cisco added an experience management solution that provides customer sentiment analytics as well as natural language capabilities that enable AI-powered customer interactions,’ it said.
As a result, and in keeping with this process, IMImobile said it offers software and services which are intended to allow enterprises ‘to stay constantly connected to their customers and which will allow Cisco to progress its vision of offering a comprehensive CXaaS offering.’
M&C Saatchi (AIM:SAA ) shares jumped 39.36% to 79.4p as it resumes trading on AIM
Shares in the international advertising agency were up by around a quarter today after resuming trading on the AIM market following the company’s recent accounting scandal.
Despite the jump during Monday afternoon trading, the agency group is still trading far below the level it was at when the accountancy scandal was revealed back in December 2019.
‘The SP is still only at 73p at the time of publication, however – far below the £3.30 they were worth before the scandal emerged in August 2019,’ wrote business magazine, Campaign.
The company was under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority over how its accounting regularities were disclosed to the market. M&C Saatchi admitted to £25.8m of accounting errors and misjudgments, with £14m of direct misstatements of pre-tax profit.
‘2019 proved to be a very difficult year for the Group as a result of the historical accounting errors. It forced the Company to re-evaluate, rethink and fine-tune many aspects of its business and operations, including its corporate governance and strategic direction.’
‘Looking forward, with a fresh strategy, structure and controls harnessed to the core M&C Saatchi spirit of creativity and entrepreneurial energy, we are very confident of a successful next chapter,’ M&C Saatchi said within its 2019 annual report released this morning.
Gunsynd (AIM:GUN ) shares rise 18.18% to 1.95p after gaining 40% in past week
The investment company has jumped by over 40% in the past week. The group hasn’t seen a busy month but it did announce a 1.1 million raise earlier this month at a price of 1p per share.
Earlier in October 2020, the group announced that it had invested C$0.25m (c. £0.146 million) into precious metals royalty and streaming company Empress Royalty Corp ("Empress").
The investment, which was executed by a subscription for 1,000,000 ordinary shares at a price of $0.25 per share formed part of a fully subscribed C$8m capital raising supported by institutional and high net worth investors from both North America and Australia.
The financing raised C$8m for Empress, a Canadian reporting issuer. It said the proceeds would fund three new investments; a gold and one silver royalty, a gold royalty and a silver streaming transaction, all of which are expected to be revenue generating within 12 months.
Commenting on the financing round, Peter Ruse, a director of Gunsynd, said, "We believe Empress offers an attractive entry point into the gold and silver royalty/streaming space which continues to be an attractive area in North American and European capital markets.”
Virgin Money (LON:VMUK ) shares fell 4% to 130.22p after profits take a hit
Last month, the group, formerly CYBG, reported a 77% plunge in full-year underlying profits after booking a £501m hit from the anticipated effects from a second coronavirus lockdown.
The company’s ‘substantial’ charge for loan losses comes as it prepares shareholders for an increase of borrowers falling behind with repayments due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
"While we are yet to see any material impacts of the pandemic on the credit quality of our loan book, our results reflect a cautious and conservative approach to the coming period as we refine our assessment of the uncertain economic outlook and the impact of the second lockdown,” said David Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Money UK on the results.
He commented “Although the vaccine news is a strong cause of hope for the future, the economic benefits are still some way off when considering the immediate reality of current restrictions and so have not yet been factored into our near-term forecasts.”
Commenting on the company’s overall outlook for 2021, Duffy said "We are well underway in rolling out our full suite of Virgin Money products and services across personal and business, underpinned by our unique brand proposition and leading digital capabilities.”
He added, “This progress, as well as the steps we have already taken to transform and simplify our business, mean we are well positioned to emerge from the pandemic as an agile, innovative and disruptive force in UK banking."