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Despite no undisclosed price sensitive information (PSI), six listed companies have continued to rally abnormally on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) over the past two months, raising concerns over speculative trading activity.
The companies -- GQ Ball Pen, Sonali Paper & Board Mills, Dulamia Cotton Spinning Mills, Monospool Bangladesh, Magura Multiplex, and Samata Leather Complex -- began their upward trajectory on June 23, and the trend continued through August 24, according to DSE data.
However, most of them saw price corrections the next two days after all reported that there were no undisclosed PSIs linked to the unusual price hikes.
Earlier, in response to abnormal price hikes, the DSE sought explanations from the companies regarding any undisclosed PSI. But in filings, each company denied the existence of any such information behind the surge in their stock prices and volumes.
Among them, GQ Ball Pen witnessed the steepest climb, with its share price jumping around 150 per cent from Tk 159.80 on June 23 to Tk 401 on Tuesday.
Despite this dramatic gain, the company has a weak financial record, with losses reported consistently from FY20 to FY24, and only managed to distribute nominal cash dividends ranging from 2.5 per cent to 5 per cent during the period. The company remains in the 'B' category.
Samata Leather Complex followed with a 106 per cent rise to Tk 115.70 on Monday, before slipping 4.06 per cent to Tk 111 on Tuesday. The company distributed dividend of only up to 0.5 per cent over the last four years just to avoid being placed in the 'junk' category.
After posting a Tk 0.67 million loss in FY22, it recorded modest profits of Tk 0.40 million and Tk 0.54 million in FY23 and FY24 respectively.
Sonali Paper & Board Mills saw a 96 per cent hike, closing at Tk 264.70 on Monday. However, it declined 5.25 per cent to Tk 250.80 on Tuesday.
It offered a relatively strong 40 per cent cash dividend in the past three years through FY24.
Dulamia Cotton Spinning Mills, listed under the 'Z' category with no record of dividend payments on the DSE website, rose 67 per cent to Tk 109.30 on Monday, before slipping to Tk 106.20 on Tuesday.
The company has reported continuous losses from FY20 through FY24, totalling nearly Tk 43 million.
In its DSE filing, the company said there are no operational or structural changes in the company or any incident that might have an impact on the price or volume of the company's shares.
Monospool Bangladesh and Magura Multiplex experienced price gains of 51 per cent and 43 per cent respectively, closing at Tk 119 and Tk 112.40 on Tuesday.
Unlike the others, both companies have relatively better fundamentals, having distributed cash dividends above 10 per cent in recent years.
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