Want to know when shares are coming out of escrow? We’ve been keeping tabs, so you don’t have to.

Every two weeks, Stockhead takes a look at the small cap companies that are releasing shares that have been locked away in escrow.

Escrow refers to shares that are held by early investors or directors restrained from selling for a year or two. The release of escrowed shares can have a big impact on stock price, because a sudden influx of stock onto the market can depress the shares you own.

It’s been some ride

This fortnight 92 million shares will be released and 16 million of them belong to logistics software maker GetSwift (ASX: GSW). The shares were issued two years ago at 80 cents as part of a capital raising.

Shares climbed as high as $4 at the end of 2017 and shareholders must be clenching their fists they couldn’t sell at that point because now it is only at 22 cents.

Too late to claim a tax loss to boost your refund for this year but perhaps not too early to start thinking about next year’s. But it was a fascinating ride.

Another was Nustantara Resources (ASX: NUS) – 25 million shares will be released worth 15 per cent of the company’s issued capital. Like GetSwift it has fallen since its listing and shareholders will be free to sell from tomorrow because the escrow period ends then.

Spectur (ASX: SP3) will be releasing the most as a portion of its shares on issue – 10.7 million shares which is 16.4 per cent; and it will do it today.

Exopharm (ASX: EX1) is not far behind since it will be releasing 14.9 per cent of its shares on issue, 12 million at the end of next week.

Sienna Cancer Diagnostics (ASX: SDX) will release 24 million shares worth on Saturday, free to be traded on Monday.

And finally Golden State Mining (ASX: GSM) will release a relatively minuscule amount of shares – 204,000; tomorrow.

Profit taking?

The one stock with shares being released from escrow where ‘profit-taking’ rather than ‘tax-loss claiming’ be an explanation is PointsBet Holdings (ASX: PBH). Yes, it’s the same one that (currently) sponsors Shark Park.

Pic: Cronulla Sutherland Sharks

Since listing in June the US bookmaker is up nearly 50 per cent. This coming Tuesday, 2 million shares (1.9 per cent of capital) will be sellable because the escrow period will cease.

But if shareholders choose to sell they will be missing out on gaining fruits from the company’s latest endeavour – to build its own casino in Colarado.

Here’s a list of ASX stocks that have signalled escrow releases in the next fortnight:

Scroll or swipe to full reveal table. Click headings to sort

Code Companu Date Released Escrowed shares % of shares on issue
PBH PointsBet Holdings Pty Ltd 6-Aug 2,074,131 1.90%
GWS GetSwift Ltd 15-Aug 16,281,608 8.65%
NUS Nusantara Resources Ltd 2-Aug 25,446,243 15.10%
EX1 Exopharm Ltd 10-Aug 12,000,000 14.90%
TMR Tempus Resources Ltd 13-Aug 1,600,000 4.40%
SDX Sienna Cancer Diagnostics Ltd 3-Aug 24,426,629 8.45%
SP3 Spectur Ltd 1-Aug 10,661,957 16.40%
GSM Golden State Mining Ltd 2-Aug 204,000 0.05%
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