eSports stocks led the list of 25 ASX-listed small caps posting gains of 100 per cent or more in October – a big drop from July (58), August (51), and September (35).
Still, a stumble at the death didn’t stop the Aussie market as a whole posting a 1.9 per cent monthly gain.
What else happened in October?
The new ASX website crapped the bed a few times. It was a mammoth month of IPO activity. The eSports boom showed no sign of slowing down.
And a sorely needed exploration wave culminated in at least five legit mineral discoveries in our October Top 50.
That’s unheard of.
HERE’S THE TOP 50 SMALL CAPS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER >>>
Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.
| CODE | COMPANY | OCTOBER RETURN % | 1 YEAR RETURN % | SHARE PRICE | MARKET CAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESR | Estrella Resources | 1015 | 1218 | 0.145 | $ 114,223,430.71 |
| DOU | Douugh | 741 | 921 | 0.26 | $ 79,260,572.56 |
| REZ | Resources & Energy Group | 313 | 125 | 0.099 | $ 38,380,396.23 |
| AYM | Australia United Mining | 267 | 1000 | 0.011 | $ 20,268,352.34 |
| XPL | Xplore Wealth | 194 | 185 | 0.185 | $ 55,044,204.40 |
| E2M | E2 Metals | 186 | 268 | 0.7 | $ 91,840,130.20 |
| ARR | American Rare Earths | 180 | 348 | 0.098 | $ 28,510,120.02 |
| WCN | White Cliff Minerals | 175 | 560 | 0.033 | $ 17,047,796.11 |
| EM1 | Emerge Gaming | 163 | 650 | 0.105 | $ 82,471,497.89 |
| FFG | Fatfish Group | 159 | 389 | 0.044 | $ 40,350,150.46 |
| PNC | Pioneer Credit | 153 | -73 | 0.67 | $ 42,544,250.27 |
| GIB | Gibb River Diamonds | 150 | 331 | 0.125 | $ 25,751,180.63 |
| YRL | Yandal Resources | 146 | 126 | 0.59 | $ 46,053,437.66 |
| RDN | Raiden Resources | 143 | 325 | 0.034 | $ 19,054,064.20 |
| KSS | Kleos | 139 | 127 | 0.68 | $ 79,850,700.68 |
| IDZ | Indoor Skydive Australia | 133 | 40 | 0.014 | $ 4,713,801.39 |
| RAN | Range International | 120 | 22 | 0.022 | $ 7,950,171.77 |
| DAU | Dampier Gold | 114 | 275 | 0.06 | $ 17,097,632.40 |
| SPQ | Superior Resources | 110 | 180 | 0.021 | $ 24,318,628.03 |
| BIR | BIR Financial | 107 | -40 | 0.06 | $ 4,875,022.20 |
| WBT | Weebit Nano | 105 | 280 | 1.5 | $ 157,665,778.50 |
| AJQ | Armour Energy | 105 | -25 | 0.041 | $ 47,621,278.11 |
| CCE | Carnegie Clean Energy | 100 | 25 | 0.002 | $ 22,282,904.90 |
| DSE | Dropsuite | 100 | 195 | 0.13 | $ 73,061,060.41 |
| NTI | Neurotech International | 100 | 73 | 0.026 | $ 10,102,683.66 |
| IOU | Ioupay | 97 | 2338 | 0.195 | $ 71,870,455.80 |
| AOU | Auroch Minerals | 96 | 85 | 0.135 | $ 31,218,513.08 |
| CWL | Consolidated Financial | 95 | 1049 | 0.037 | $ 4,692,628.53 |
| AZS | Azure Minerals | 95 | 157 | 0.36 | $ 87,189,342.12 |
| VRS | Veris | 93 | -18 | 0.056 | $ 22,694,072.02 |
| BAT | Battery Minerals | 93 | 238 | 0.027 | $ 47,451,295.77 |
| FUN | Funtastic | 92 | 303 | 0.125 | $ 30,050,509.38 |
| SCT | Scout Security | 90 | 127 | 0.15 | $ 14,350,160.40 |
| WWI | West Wits Mining | 89 | 1300 | 0.07 | $ 83,722,926.98 |
| SOR | Strategic Elements | 88 | 54 | 0.12 | $ 34,365,586.92 |
| IXU | Ixup | 84 | 53 | 0.068 | $ 40,506,261.49 |
| NSX | NSX | 79 | -3 | 0.145 | $ 37,309,359.56 |
| AMO | Ambertech | 75 | 59 | 0.175 | $ 13,379,624.13 |
| RMX | Red Mountain Mining | 75 | 100 | 0.014 | $ 15,782,514.85 |
| SRN | Surefire Resources | 73 | 375 | 0.038 | $ 23,869,838.32 |
| TMZ | Thomson Resources | 72 | 208 | 0.081 | $ 14,477,685.26 |
| PWN | Parkway Minerals | 71 | 100 | 0.012 | $ 22,809,047.80 |
| TIG | Tigers Realm Coal | 71 | -27 | 0.012 | $ 91,375,163.38 |
| KIS | King Island | 71 | 34 | 0.099 | $ 26,206,230.90 |
| GLH | Global Health | 70 | 152 | 0.39 | $ 16,418,344.80 |
| ESH | Esports Mogul | 69 | 83 | 0.022 | $ 55,963,959.22 |
| 8VI | 8Vi Holdings | 69 | 633 | 1.1 | $ 48,815,189.50 |
| ICI | Icandy Interactive | 69 | 303 | 0.145 | $ 67,095,189.82 |
| CNJ | Conico | 67 | 233 | 0.03 | $ 17,642,871.06 |
| TNT | Tesserent | 66 | 645 | 0.365 | $ 292,912,978.88 |
eSports ahead of the game
eSports was already booming before it picked up a tailwind from the global COVID-19 lockdowns.
In July, research predicted that gamers around the world would spend $US159.3bn (~$220bn) in 2020 across mobile, PC, and console gaming devices.
Frequent eSports viewers had increased from 173 million in 2018 to an estimated 223 million in 2020.
Aussie gaming stocks are enjoying big gains.
Leading the pack in October was Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) which caught a rocket after ostensibly hitting 6 million pre-registrations for its MIGGSTER eSports platform – half of which has come since October 19.
The stock is currently suspended until it answers some questions about this milestone put to it by the ASX.
A tie-up with the NASDAQ-listed Super League Gaming (SLGG) has moved the needle for gaming tournament platform Esports Mogul (ASX:ESH), which gained 69 per cent for the month.
And iCandy Interactive (ASX:ICI) – which also had a very good September – jumped after the newly launched ‘Masketeers’ game made $92,000 in its first five days.
The discovery hot streak continues
Unearthing a company-making discovery usually takes years of dogged, often unsexy exploration work.
The problem? Exploration costs money, and for the longest time investment in the sector has been abysmal.
That changed in 2020. Explorers are responsible for a huge chunk of the capital raised this year, as investors ride the wave of strong metals prices and positive sentiment.
This extra cash allows companies to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at their best targets.
Results over the past month speak for themselves.
A spectacular intersection at Estrella Resources’ (ASX:ESR) flagship Carr Boyd project could see it “joining an elite list of recent Western Australian nickel discoveries” like Julimar, Golden Swan and Mawson.
Gibb River Diamonds (ASX:GIB) made a major new high-grade gold discovery at the Edjudina project in WA.
Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS) potentially hit the big one in its very first drillhole at the Andover nickel-copper project, also in WA.
A spectacular hit of 24m at ~6g/t gold – including 4m at ~35g/t – in early stage drilling at the Zuleika project sent Dampier Gold (ASX:DAU) soaring to eight-year highs.
And E2 Metals (ASX:E2M) has a made a “genuine new greenfields discovery” at the Conserrat project in Argentina, intersecting an incredible 18m at 47g/t gold and 208g/t silver.
These five stocks are up 1015%, 150%, 95%, 114% and 186% respectively over the past month.