Halo Technologies (ASX: HAL) shares are up 178% today. And that’s falling from the peak that HAL shares reached too. There appears to be no real and fundamental reason for this. We’re not looking at a takeover bid - either way - nor the announcement of a grand new deal or excellent results. The exchange even asked the company if they knew why this price rise happened and their response was, well, no?
As to what happens at Halo: “Halo Technologies Holdings Limited (HAL) is an online global equities research and trade execution software solution that brings institutional-grade analytical frameworks and market insights to investors. HALO's investment software solution offering can be divided into two integrated elements - HALO Global and HALO Trading.” Well, that’s nice. And if we stop being flippant for a moment there is a large gap in the market somewhere inbetween Google and a Bloomberg terminal. That second is tens of thousands of $ a month per user but it does do everything on every market globally. Google’s free and which it’s better than a library as an information source it doesn’t actually allow us to trade. Somewhere inbetween those two there is indeed a niche at least. No, not for us independent traders, rather for the small scale advisors and wealth managers who really aren’t up to the overheads of a Bloomberg.
That, at least, is the idea here.
Halo Technologies share price from Google Finance
In the absence of a takeover attempt though that’s not what we would think of as a business subject to 200% share price changes. So, the exchange asked Halo themselves whether they knew why: “No. HALO is not aware.” Short and wholly informative. Fortunately they did then go on to say: “It has come to our attention that Pitt Street Research has issued an equities research report. For transparency, HALO has not commissioned the report.”
That report is here. “ We value Halo Technologies at A$0.33 per share in our base case using a Sum of the Parts Valuation. We think Halo can increase shareholder value through continued growth in FUM, the successful expansion into overseas markets like the UK, enhancements to the platform that enhance the value proposition to customers and the company edging towards both EBITDA and bottom line profitability.”
One broker, in one report, thinks an 8 cent share is worth 33 cents. Well, OK, that’s what they think. But we’d suggest that this is an effect which will fade away fairly rapidly.
