The Scale segment does not rise as rapidly as the DAX or Dow Jones, but there are some high-flyers this year, such as Pantaflix, Vectron, Platform, EQS and Veganz. The three questions this time go to Bernhard Frohwitter from ParTec.
15 December 2023. FRANKFURT (Börse Frankfurt). Things are looking up, albeit in triple steps: The Scale segment seems to have left the lows behind. The Scale All Share is at 1,153 points on Friday morning, slightly above the level of a month ago and somewhat above the low of 1,077 points at the end of October. However, the Scale index cannot keep pace with the DAX, which has just reached a new all-time high. The Scale All Share all-time high from the fall of 2021 at almost 2,000 points is a long way off.
EQS: Success with consequences
However, things went really well for Scale member EQS (DE0005494165). At the beginning of December, Pineapple German Bidco GmbH, which is backed by US financial investor Thoma Bravo, published its public takeover offer for the Munich-based compliance software specialist. EQS shareholders have until January 12 to offer their shares at EUR 40 per share - a premium of 53 percent compared to the Xetra closing price on November 15. The Management Board and Supervisory Board of EQS are in favor of the offer. Prior to the announcement of the offer, the share price was EUR 22, afterwards EUR 40. The downer: the very probable withdrawal from the stock market.
EQS Group is a leading provider of investor communications and one of the market leaders for digital whistleblowing systems. It is currently benefiting greatly from the whistleblower protection law that has been in force in Germany since July 2: companies with 50 or more employees must now have whistleblower reporting offices.
The Platform Group: ready for the (fashionable) future
The Platform Group (DE000A2QEFA1), formerly Fashionette, is also striving for greater things. On Monday of this week, the marketplace operator for luxury accessories opened trading on the trading floor in Frankfurt, marking the successful completion of the merger of Platform and Fashionette. For 2023, The Platform Group expects sales to increase by 32 percent and EBITDA to rise by 92 percent. After Fashionette's poor share price performance in 2021 and 2022, things are looking much better this year: The share price has risen from 4 to 6.14 euros in the past twelve months.
This also makes the platform share one of the scale stocks with the best performance over a twelve-month period. The film production company Pantaflix (DE000A12UPJ7) and the POS system provider Vectron Systems (DE000A0KEXC7) performed even better, with share price gains of 102% and 81% respectively. However, this was preceded by heavy price losses. EQS Group and Veganz Group ("Veganer Genuss aus Berlin") ranked fourth and fifth. Bringing up the rear are Helma Eigenheimbau, Beaconsmind and Cantourage, although Cantourage is currently trading at EUR 7, which is at least still higher than its initial share price at the time of its IPO just over a year ago.
Is the race to catch up now?
A recurring theme on the markets is why small stocks are still lagging behind the big ones. In the long term, they have performed better in the past and offered a "risk premium". "Currently, the risk premium of small caps has disappeared," writes capital market strategist Tilmann Galle from J.P. Morgan, who recently addressed the topic with a view to global small caps. He is convinced that falling interest rates could create a more attractive environment for small caps. "In the last three US recessions, it has been a successful three-year strategy to favor small caps over large caps after the start of a recession. Falling financing costs and the prospect of a future economic recovery then give the segment the necessary tailwind." However, Galle also points to the high number of unprofitable companies. In addition to innovative and fast-growing companies, there are also many small-capitalized companies that never manage to become big.
Formycon: rise to 100 euros forecast
Things did not go so well this year for Formycon shares, which were still so popular in 2022. Recently, however, there has been some good news: The company, which offers biopharmaceutical follow-on products ("biosimilars"), has submitted a marketing authorization application for an eye drug (FYB203) in Europe. In addition, a drug for severe inflammatory diseases (FYB202) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "Formycon is making progress in the commercialization of its biosimilar portfolio," explains the analyst firm Alster Research, issuing a buy recommendation and a price target of EUR 100, well above the current price of EUR 56.80.
Analysis company/bank | Scale company | Recommendation | Target price in euros | Current price in euros |
SMC-Research | Blue Cap | Buy | 29,70 | 17,20 |
Warburg | Blue Cap | Buy | 30,00 | 17,20 |
SMC-Research | Pyrum Innovations | Speculative Buy | 64,40 | 33,40 |
SMC-Research | 2G Energy | Buy | 31,50 | 22,55 |
First Berlin | 2G Energy | Buy | 34,00 | 22,55 |
GBC | The Naga Group | Buy | 2,90 | 1,04 |
GBC | Media and Games Invest | Buy | 4,05 | 0,97 |
GBC | Advanced Blockchain | Buy | 11,00 | 3,01 |
First Berlin | Media and Games Invest | Buy | 3,20 | 0,97 |
BankM | JDC Group | Kaufen | 22,17 | 19,75 |
ParTechas just received the IPO Award from Deutsche Börse Group, but the share price has fallen significantly since the listing in July. What is the reason for this?
Our IPO was an important step in further increasing our visibility and expanding our investor base. At ParTec, we concentrate on our operating business; the stock market decides on the share price. We are certainly not satisfied with the recent share price performance. We will continue to draw attention to ParTec's positioning, our excellent expertise, our patents and our potential through transparent communication.
The award of the contract for the major "Jupiter" project in Jülich, i.e. the construction of the first exascale supercomputer in Europe, was described by Montega as a "milestone" for ParTec. Do you agree?
Absolutely. Jupiter will be one of the fastest supercomputers in the world and will make a decisive contribution to finding answers to urgent human questions, such as climate or health. When it is completed in the fall of 2024, it will also be by far the fastest AI computer in the world. Jupiter is being built using the dynamic Modular System Architecture (dMSA) developed and patented by us. The fact that we were selected as the lead partner for the project once again underlines our expertise and years of experience in the field of supercomputers.
Where do you see the greatest potential for ParTec, i.e. what speaks in favor of your share?
The market for super and quantum computers will continue to grow strongly over the next few years. The main driver is already - and will become even stronger - the enormous demand for immense AI computing power. We have more than 150 patents worldwide, are constantly winning new tenders, and our software is already tried and tested and in use in numerous applications and high-performance computers. We also see significant competitive advantages in the future through collaborations, for example with the Israeli company Quantum Machines. ParTec is excellently positioned on the market to benefit from this development and drive its growth forward.
ParTec AG specializes in the development and manufacture of modular supercomputers and quantum computers as well as the associated system software. Its offering includes sales as well as consulting and support services in all areas of development, construction and operation. According to the company, the dMSA approach (dynamic Modular System Architecture) is a unique and successful feature of ParTec AG, which has proven particularly successful for the complex requirements of massive computing power in AI.
by: Anna-Maria Borse © 15 Deccember 2023, Deutsche Börse AG
Anna-Maria Borse is a finance and economics editor specializing in financial markets/stock markets and economic topics.
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