Legacy Footwear's share jumps 668pc in one year

The share price of Legacy Footwear Limited continued to soar with no apparent reason as the company's share price jumped nearly seven-fold within a year.

The price soared 6.24 per cent further on Thursday to close at Tk 205.90 each at the Dhaka bourse. The share price rose more than 133 per cent in a month.

The price skyrocketed by more than 668 per cent or Tk 179 each within a year from Tk 26.80 on July 20, 2017.

Following the recent 'abnormal' price hike, the DSE served show-cause notice on the company several times.

In response, the company informed the DSE that there was no undisclosed price sensitive information (PSI) for the unusual price hike of its shares.

Furthermore, the shoemaker also requested the investors not to consider rumours before investing their funds.

"This unusual trade volume and price hike is quite abnormal considering the current market situation. The investors are requested to assess actual situation before any investment," the company said in a statement.

According to market insiders, there is a rumour that Legacy Footwear will merge with another shoemaker, but the company already dismissed it. Still, investors were trying to get the stock at a higher price.

The company's earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 0.56 in the first quarter of this year, which was Tk 0.04 in the negative a year earlier.

In nine months for July 2017-March 2018, its EPS was Tk 0.38 as against Tk 0.05 for July 2016-March 2017. As of March 31, its net asset value per share was Tk 15.65.

Legacy Footwear, which was listed on the DSE in 2000, disbursed 10 per cent stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2017.

Sponsor-directors own 30 per cent stake in the company while the institutional investors own 6.16 per cent, foreign investors 6.12 per cent and the general public 57.72 per cent as on June 30, 2018, the DSE data shows.

The company's paid-up capital is Tk 113.74 million and authorised capital is Tk 750 million and the total number of securities is 11.37 million.

The price of seven other companies - Meghna Pet Industries, Meghna Condensed Milk, Imam Button, Ambee Pharmaceuticals, Aramit and Shympur Sugar Mill - were also soaring despite having no price sensitive information.

The recent unusual price hike of these companies prompted the DSE to serve show-cause notices.

All the companies echoed the same on Thursday that there were no undisclosed information that could have caused the unusual price increase.

"Even after being served the show-cause notices, the prices of some of these companies have not stopped rising, which may cause the investors to incur massive losses," said an analyst.

He advised the investors to carefully invest in stocks and analyse the fundamentals of the companies beforehand.

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