MARKET REPORT: Novacyt in demand as it battles new Covid strains

Novacyt proved it is still a fast mover in the battle to beat Covid after launching products that can detect new variants of the virus.

The world has been on high alert for weeks after three strains thought to be more contagious – and possibly more deadly – emerged from South Africa, Brazil and the UK.

While Covid testing has been a priority, authorities are racing to locate and track outbreaks of the new strains – but the turnaround for the more detailed tests required has so far been slow.

New tools: Novacyt has launched a set of new Covid tests that can detect new variants of the virus

Novacyt’s new tools can be used on the same site as its polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests rather than being sent away to another lab and can produce a result within hours.

More products will be rolled out in March, Novacyt said.

It has been a whirlwind year for the company and its investors alike. At this time in 2020 it had just become one of the first companies in the world to develop an accurate Covid test. 

Its shares had been changing hands for around 15p before then – but within a matter of weeks the AIM-listed group’s value had exploded and it hit peaks of 1194p in the autumn.

Last Friday it sank by almost a fifth after it admitted that it was hard to tell what would happen in 2021 and that it is still in talks with government about a contract extension.

Stock Watch – Gem Diamonds

The recovery in diamond prices is in full swing, according to the latest figures from Gem Diamonds.

The group, which has mines in the southern Africa countries of Botswana and Lesotho, sold w fewer carats last year. 

But the total value of those sales was 4 per cent higher at £133million as prices rose to higher levels than before Covid struck.

Shares in the group climbed to 52.4p in early trades following the update, but pared back gains to finish up 2.4 per cent, or 1.2p, at 51.4p.

 

 

Some investors are also profit-taking after its astonishing rise and question marks about the long-term market for its Covid products once there are vaccines.

But its stock was rising again yesterday, up 4.9 per cent, or 40p, to 865p.

The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indexes also climbed, despite a tumble in silver prices weighing on miners such as Fresnillo (down 4.8 per cent, or 52p, at 1024p) and Hochschild Mining (down 10.3 per cent, or 26.2p, to 227.8p) that soared at the start of the week.

The Footsie added 0.8 per cent, or 50.23 points, to finish at 6516.65, while the smaller mid-cap index rose 1.5 per cent, or 297.59 points, to 20690.21.

Travel stocks such as Intercontinental Hotels Group (up 5.8 per cent, or 269p, to 4876p), Premier Inn-owner Whitbread (up 5.8 per cent, or 166p, to 3016p) and British Airways-owner IAG (up 5.1 per cent, or 7.25p, to 149.95p) were the biggest blue-chip risers as optimism continued to grow that the roll out of vaccine programmes will help spur a recovery and allow holidays to start again later this year.

Metro Bank jumped after scooping a portfolio of peer-to-peer loans for £384million, which is in line with boss Daniel Frumkin’s strategy to buy more unsecured loans. It rose 4 per cent, or 4.75p, to 122.5p.

Commercial landlord Capital & Counties revealed the value of its Covent Garden estate plunged by 27 per cent in 2020. 

An independent property valuation for its premises in the restaurant and shopping district, nestled near the West End, said it was worth £1.8billion at the end of last year. The year before, it was worth £2.6billion.

Rents are still filtering in, and the company has ample wiggle room as property values could fall by another 68 per cent before its banks would step in. 

The third lockdown has set retailers and leisure companies back after a difficult end to 2020, when restrictions limited the usually frantic Christmas shopping season.

But the company is optimistic, given the ‘enduring appeal of Covent Garden’ and the numbers who flocked there when lockdowns were lifted over the summer and autumn. Shares fell 1.5 per cent, or 2p, to 133.8p.

Entain is in talks to buy Australian group Tabcorp’s wagering business – a deal that would make the Ladbrokes owner the biggest horse and sports betting firm in Oz.

But Entain shareholders were unmoved by the talks and its stock closed flat at 1283.5p.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk