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Lunchtime ASX Small Cap Wrap: Which COVID-19 investors are getting the bird today?
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As difficult as it has been on people’s livelihoods, the COVID-19 pandemic has still thrown up plenty of investment opportunities in recent weeks.
Market updates around themes such as hand sanitiser and remote health solutions have been the catalyst for sharp moves among ASX small caps. The odd gold discovery hasn’t hurt either.
We came across a different investment strategy this morning: toilet paper hoarding.
One opportunistic scam-artist investor in South Australia embarked on a coordinated strategy to buy up 150 packets of 32-roll toilet paper (and 150 bottles of 1-litre hand sanitiser) from supermarket chain Drakes.
They then had the temerity to try and on-sell the goods on eBay, which disallowed the sale.
That was followed by an audacious return request, at which point Drakes director John-Paul Drake promptly gave them the bird in this YouTube video.
From private toilet paper salesman to public markets, and the ASX drifted lower in a relatively quiet morning by global pandemic standards.
The ASX200 was down 0.8 per cent into midday trade at 5,444.60 points, while the Small Ords index fell 0.21 per cent to 2,321.90 points.
WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Wednesday April 15:
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| CODE | COMPANY | PRICE | % CHANGE | MARKET CAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDI | Predictive Discovery | 0.034 | 467.00% | $16.7M |
| APH | Australian Primary Hemp | 0.15 | 114.29% | $10.5M |
| CHN | Chalice Gold Mines | 1.028 | 81.86% | $268.6M |
| A3D | Aurora Minerals Ltd | 0.014 | 75.00% | $8.9M |
| JXT | Jaxsta | 0.035 | 59.09% | $8.9M |
| DTI | DTI Group | 0.03 | 50.00% | $10.1M |
| 1ST | 1st Group | 0.037 | 37.04% | $16.1M |
| CM8 | Crowd Mobile | 0.021 | 31.25% | $6.2M |
| ZEN | Zenith Minerals Ltd | 0.04 | 42.86% | $149.4M |
| HLX | Helix Resources | 0.007 | 40.00% | $3.4M |
| FPL | Fremont Petroleum | 0.004 | 33.33% | $6.7M |
| POW | Protean Energy | 0.004 | 33.33% | $1.3M |
| MNW | Mint Payments | 0.008 | 33.33% | $7.3M |
| BIQ | BuildingIQ Inc | 0.004 | 33.33% | $1.5M |
| AMT | Allegra Orthopaedics | 0.2 | 33.33% | $19.9M |
| MSG | MCS Services Ltd | 0.017 | 30.77% | $3.2M |
| NUH | Nuheara | 0.018 | 28.57% | $19.5M |
| AKP | Audio Pixels | 16.5 | 26.92% | $465.6M |
| REX | Regional Express Holdings | 0.875 | 26.81% | $96.4M |
| IMM | Immutep | 0.17 | 25.93% | $62.7M |
| DRE | Dreadnought Resources | 0.005 | 25.00% | $8.8M |
| AHL | Ahalife Holdings | 0.005 | 25.00% | $5.3M |
Gold explorer Predictive Discovery (ASX:PDI) stole the show in morning trade, climbing by more than 400 per cent after a big gold find in Guinea.
A 24-hole drilling program at its fully-owned Kaninko project revealed a broad north-facing zone “which is at least 450m long, and open in all directions and at depth”.
“Many of the holes either started or stopped in gold mineralisation, which is therefore open both at depth and to the east and west on most drill lines,” managing director Paul Roberts said.
Shares in Australian Primary Hemp Limited (ASX:APH) also found demand, doubling up in morning trade with a gain of 115 per cent.
The surge comes one day after the company released its 4C filing for the March quarter, where it said it booked record Q1 revenues of $450,000.
LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Wednesday April 15:
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| CODE | COMPANY | PRICE | % CHANGE | MARKET CAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QUE | Queste Communications | 0.024 | -61.29% | $1.7M |
| ICG | Inca Minerals Ltd | 0.001 | -33.33% | $4.1M |
| FRX | Flexiroam Ltd | 0.01 | -33.33% | $3.1M |
| BAS | Bass Strait Oil Co Ltd | 0.001 | -33.33% | $5.0M |
| MCT | Metalicity | 0.003 | -25.00% | $2.2M |
| AQS | Aquis Entertainment | 0.012 | -25.00% | $2.5M |
| LAA | Latam Autos Ltd | 0.016 | -23.81% | $9.5M |
| SE1 | Sensera | 0.004 | -20.00% | $1.3M |
| GTG | Genetic Technologies Ltd | 0.004 | -20.00% | $18.7M |
| TMX | Terrain Minerals Ltd | 0.004 | -20.00% | $2.9M |
| EMU | Emu NL | 0.02 | -16.67% | $6.0M |
| YOW | Yowie Group Ltd | 0.036 | -16.28% | $7.9M |
| ACB | A-Cap Energy | 0.011 | -15.38% | $9.6M |
| AU8 | Augend | 0.065 | -14.47% | $20.0M |
| BBC | BNK Banking | 0.39 | -13.33% | $36.8M |
| MAN | Mandrake Resources | 0.02 | -13.04% | $5.3M |
| HSC | Homestay Care | 0.007 | -12.50% | $11.7M |
| CPV | ClearVue Technologies | 0.11 | -12.00% | $12.2M |
| ADO | Anteo Diagnostics | 0.023 | -11.54% | $37.8M |
