FRANKFURT (DEUTSCHE-BOERSE AG) - From a threefold increase in share prices to heavy losses - anything can happen in the Scale segment. For the Scale index, therefore, 2024 was a sideways year. The highest turnover was seen in heat pump manufacturer 2G, while the best share price performance was delivered by Verve Group.
January 16, 2025. FRANKFURT (Borse Frankfurt). The Scale segment is hoping for a better new year. Because unlike the Largecap indices such as the DAX, S&P 500 or Euro Stoxx, the performance of the small-cap segment was disappointing in 2024. The Scale All Share index moved more or less sideways and closed at 1,115 points at the end of December. On Wednesday morning, the index stood at 1,125 points.
Behind this, there are highly divergent developments: the share price of top performer, advertising software provider Verve Group (SE0018538068), has still more than tripled over a twelve-month horizon even after the latest price setbacks. Cyan (DE000A2E4SV8) and Apontis Pharma (DE000A3CMGM5) have seen their share prices more than double. And the prices of MPC Capital (DE000A1TNWJ4) and The Platform Group (DE000A2QEFA1) have risen by 72 and 31 percent respectively. At the other end of the scale, there are heavy losses, for example, in Mynaric (DE000A31C305), Rigsave (IT0005526295), Cliq Digital (DE000A35JS40), EV Digital Invest (DE000A3DD6W5) and Noratis (DE000A2E4MK4).
2G: High sales, many recommendations
The most-traded Scale stock on the Deutsche Borse 2024 market places was 2G Energy with a turnover of 114 million euros. It was followed by Datagroup (98 million), Formycon (83 million), Mensch und Maschine (74 million) and Deutsche Rohstoff (74 million). Also heavily traded: Cliq Digital, Verve Group, Vectron Systems, Ernst Russ and Nabaltec.
The price of 2G (DE000A0HL8N9) saw ups and downs in 2024, but in the new year, the manufacturer of large heat pumps and combined heat and power plants is on an upward trajectory, currently at 25.35 euros. The share is also often recommended as a green investment, and is also well received by analysts. There are buy recommendations from Warburg Research (target price 39 euros), SMC Research (35 euros), First Berlin (34 euros) and Metzler Capital Markets (31.90 euros).
The shares of the equally heavily traded oil producer Deutsche Rohstoff (DE000A0XYG76) also fluctuated sharply in 2024. This year, with higher oil prices, it rose to its current 35.50 euros. Here, analysts' opinions differ: First Berlin and mwb Research recommend buying (target prices of 48 and 50.40 euros), while Kepler Cheuvreux recommends reducing (target price of 30 euros).
New anchor shareholder for MPC
MPC Capital (DE000A1TNWJ4), one of the top performers, reported a new majority shareholder in December: the Greek entrepreneur Petros Panagiotidis, who comes from the shipping industry. Montega responded by downgrading the recommendation from Buy to Hold, with a price target of EUR 6.50 – although the price did rise to EUR 6.40 due to the good performance. The price level almost entirely reflects Montega's forecast for the company's performance. MPC is now trading at EUR 5.55 again.
Cantourage: Good figures, poor share price performance
Cantourage (DE000A3DSV01) continues to have a bumpy ride on the stock market. On Tuesday of this week, the medical cannabis provider reported revenues of 51.4 million euros for the full year 2024 - more than forecast (46 to 50 million) and an increase of 118 percent over the previous year. Shortly before Christmas, Cantourage also announced a new collaboration with the Polish pharmaceutical wholesaler PharmaVitae.
The analyst firm Nuways then confirmed its buy recommendation with a price target of 12 euros, which would more than double the current price of 4.86 euros. The Polish market for medical cannabis is still in its early stages, but the regulatory environment is improving. Nuways believes that the risks posed by the likely change of government in Germany are low due to the company's focus on medical cannabis.
Ex-Scale member now in TecDAX
Former Scale member Formycon (DE000A1EWVY8) - listed in the Prime Standard since November 2024 - has been a member of not only the SDAX but also the TecDAX since the beginning of this week. The supplier of follow-on products for biopharmaceutical drugs (biosimilars) is therefore one of the 30 largest listed technology companies in Germany in terms of market capitalization and trading volume. This stock is also extremely popular with analyst firms. Formycon itself lists eleven analyst firms that cover the stock – all with buy recommendations. Examples include Berenberg (target price 102 euros), First Berlin (82 euros), Hauck & Aufhäuser (90 euros), B. Metzler (82 euros), Oddo BHF (80 euros) and M.M. Warburg (93 euros). The current price is 61.70 euros.
By Anna-Maria Borse © January 16, 2025, Deutsche Borse AG
(Deutsche Borse AG is solely responsible for the content of the column. The contributions are not an invitation to buy or sell securities or other assets.)