Discount retailer Poundland (PLND) - a running Shares Play of the Week - jumps 4.4% to 343.1p as investors like full-year results. Trading has been very good in the first three months of its new financial year with 18% rise in sales. Its trial store in Spain has launched this week.
Drug-maker Shire (SHP) improves 1% to £45.93 on newspaper gossip suggests would-be suitor AbbVie (ABBV:NDQ) is courting its shareholders to force the company to the negotiating table.
IT security company NCC (NCC) rises nearly 3% to 197.25p after delivering strong organic full year growth, with revenues and operating profits up 12% and 9% respectively. The company also spells out plans for its new Domain Services division, and its emerging secure gated internet community initiative .trust.
Greene King (GNK) dips 3.3% to 819p as high interest costs dampen better-than-expected earnings.
Mobile commerce specialist MoPowered (MPOW:AIM) axes its finance director Ben Carswell as the bean counter carries the can for a disastrous revenue warning earlier this week. But the market remains unimpressed, selling the shares down an extra 10% to 28.75p.
A bullish update from housebuilder MJ Gleeson (GLE) sees shares in the Fleet-based constructor adding 6.6% to 405p after reporting a 38% increase in homes sold year-on-year in the 12 months to 30 June.
Xchanging (XCH) rises 2.75p to 155p after buying insurance software business Total Object in a deal capped at £21 million. The price tag looks astronomical on 42 times EV/EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), yet it is worth noting that just under half the acquisition cost isn't payable upfront, instead due over the next three years subject to performance.
Fractured basement reservoir play Hurricane Energy (HUR:AIM) - featuring in today's issue of Shares - falls 9% to 42.75p as it unhooks the drilling unit used to test its Lancaster discovery. The sell-off likely reflects some profit-taking following a stellar run on last week's flow test and the absence of immediate catalysts with results from detailed technical analysis of the test not anticipated until late this quarter.
One Media IP (OMIP:AIM) is flat at 16p despite making a big acquisition which snags it the rights to more than 4,000 classical recordings. The running Shares Play of the Week says the music is already generating an income through licencing deals with record labels and has previously acted as content for use in film and TV.
Text messaging supplier Messaging International (MES:AIM) falls 7% to 0.98p as a suspension of trading in the shares is lifted following late full year results. Those figures, showing modest £3.7 million revenues and ongoing losses, were published earlier this week while the annual report is posted today.
Profit takers swoop on wireless connectivity tiddler CYAN (CYAN:AIM), the shares down a little more than 11% to 0.5p, valuing the business at £17 million. The shares had more than doubled since bagging a second smart metering contract earlier this week.
A 78% hike in revenues for the year to 31 March leads to narrowed losses at specialist wood producer Accsys Technologies (AXS:AIM). The share price edges 2.1% higher to €0.24.
Paving and stone landscaping specialists Marshalls (MSLH) adds 3% to 182p as a trading update reveals a 19% increase in turnover in its Public Sector and Commercial end market.
Commercial real estate investor LondonMetric Property (LMP) gains 1.3% to 139.7p on agreeing to buy Trostre South Retail Park in Llanelli for £12.8 million. The deal, made through a joint venture, reflects a 6.8% net initial yield.
