SMALL CAP MOVERS: Online Blockchain gets Elon-gated

Investors piled this week into stocks exposed to the hot investment sectors, namely Bitcoin, COVID-19 and cannabis.

A lot of successful investment involves ‘joining the dots’ and so although there was no real news flow from Online Blockchain it is little surprise that the stock was one of the week’s best performers, rising 158 per cent to 107p as the Bitcoin buying frenzy continued, helped by some external combustion provided by Elon Musk, the founder of electric vehicle maker, Tesla, who has been banging on about cryptocurrencies.

Braveheart Investment and Scancell, meanwhile, both felt obliged to put out statements commenting on their respective share price movements and both essentially said: ‘nothing new to see here, please refer to our earlier announcements’.

Those ‘earlier announcements’ were both related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

In Braveheart’s case, the investment firm updated at the end of January on progress by its subsidiary Paraytec’s collaboration with the University of Sheffield on a COVID-19 test.

There was nothing new to add to that announcement but that did not stop the share price from soaring 147 per cent to 113.5p.

As for Scancell, in attempting to account for its share price rise it could do no more than point to its late January announcement in which it gave an update on its COVIDITY programme, where it is looking to develop a differentiated vaccine against COVID-19 that would potentially be active against new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The shares stormed 89 per cent higher to 26p.

Investor enthusiasm for all things related to the fight against COVID-19 can be a two-edged sword, however, as Remote Monitored Systems found out, as its shares plunged 41 per cent to 1.7p after it launched a strategic review and overhauled its board following more delays in getting production of its Covid-19 facemask established.

The only consolation for long-term holders of the stock is that the shares are still five times higher than they were a year ago.

London does not have a lot of medicinal cannabis companies but the numbers are swelling, reflecting increasing interest in this sector.

Kanabo Group, which makes an inhaler that is nicknamed the ‘cannabis Nespresso’, made its market debut on February 16 and is already up 577 per cent at 31.5p.

MGC Pharmaceuticals has been around a little longer, having listed in London on February 9 at 1.475p. Its shares now trade at 7.21p after rising 72 per cent in a week in which it announced its first deal to supply its food supplement product.

FastForward Innovations, up 42 per cent this week to 14.375p, was another stock high on cannabis connections.

The investment company’s acquisition of a 0.9 per cent interest last week in Little Green Pharma (LGP) was well-timed as LGP revealed it will exclusively supply medicinal cannabis oil products to enrolled patients in the University of Sydney’s QUality of life Evaluation Study, commonly known as The QUEST Initiative.

This initiative will look at how much medicinal cannabis can improve the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic disease.

Away from these sexy sectors, a couple of companies with Indian connections had a good week.

Oilex doubled in price to 0.19p after it reached an agreement with the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) over the Cambay production sharing contract (PSC).

The two parties have been at loggerheads but GSPC has now agreed to sell its participating interest in the PSC.

Mercantile Ports & Logistics Limited climbed 96 per cent to 0.715p after two parties signed contracts to use the London-listed company’s under-development port and logistics facility in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.