Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Information Services Network Ltd (ISN) has been flying high on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) despite repeated warnings from the company that there is no undisclosed information for abnormal price hike.
The IT Company, which is under 'B' category, has reported a loss of Tk 1.86 million for nine months through March this year. It paid only 0.50 per cent cash dividend for FY24 due to insignificant annual profit of Tk 1.34 million for FY24.
Besides, the company's sponsor-directors collectively hold only 21.47 per cent of the company's shares, falling short of the regulatory requirement of a minimum 30 per cent joint shareholding.
Despite such grim performance, the IT firm's stock jumped more than 150 per cent in just three weeks to close at Tk 105.7 on Thursday from Tk 42.2 on August 7.
Such an unusual price movement in recent times prompted the prime bourse to serve show-cause notices twice last week to the company authority, enquiring about the reasons behind that.
The company returned a knee-jerk response, saying there was no undisclosed price-sensitive information for the recent price hike.
Even after the stock exchange's intervention, its stock price did not stop rising and soared 45.6 per cent further this week.
Low-performing stocks have been flying high on the Dhaka bourse in the past few weeks, bringing into question the investors' preference for such poor-performing stock.
Two junk stocks -- Progressive Life Insurance and Zahintex Industries -- and four 'B' category stocks featured in this weeks' top 10 gainer list.
Some of the companies have not been in operation for years and refrained from making any updated disclosures. Still, their stocks have been surprisingly rising at a time when the overall market remained downturn for three straight sessions.
The non-performing stocks are significantly beating their industry peers nowadays that are in regular business operation, posting profits and giving dividends to their shareholders.
Market analysts said the price hike of the poorly performing companies or closed firms give a message that market manipulators are still active in the secondary market despite stricter punitive measures taken by the newly-formed commission against wrongdoers.
babulfexpress@gmail.com