Stocks to watch: Cue Energy returns to NZX, Horizon turns down takeover

Tuesday 20th October 2009

The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading yesterday.

Themes of the day: Stocks on Wall Street and in Europe climbed amid better-than-expected earnings in the US Oil climbed above US$79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as the greenback continued to slide. The New Zealand climbed to a new 15-month high at 75.28 US cents as investors’ appetite for higher yields returned. Oil explorer Cue Energy said it would return to the NZX from tomorrow, the first such listing in two years.

AMP NZ Office Trust (APT): The board of the country’s largest listed commercial landlord is expected to come under pressure at its annual meeting in Wellington on Thursday due to the almost empty office tower in the Auckland CBD, according to the NZ Herald. The Queen St building has only two tenants, one of which also has a lease with the trust in its PricewaterhouseCoopers Tower on Quay St. The shares climbed 1.2% to 86 cents on the exchange yesterday.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (FPH): The shares climbed 2.7% to $3.05 yesterday after the maker of respirators and breathing masks repaid some $23 million of debt using gains in its forward exchange hedge book.

Horizon Energy Distribution (HED): Eastern Bay Energy Trust, which owns 77% of Horizon, today advised the company it will reject Marlborough Line’s offer to take control of the company at $3.96 per share. The offer was at the low end of an independent valuation range of $3.96 to $4.68. The shares last traded at $3.40.

Methven (MVN): The tap-ware and bathroom products company gained 2.9% to $1.76 yesterday, leading the index higher. The stock is rated a ‘buy’ based on four analyst recommendations compiled by Reuters. The shares have gained 50% in the past six months.

NZX (NZX): Cue Energy Resources has announced it will return to the stock exchange from tomorrow, with about 39% of the company’s shareholders are based in New Zealand. The new listing on the bourse is the first in two years. Shares in the exchange operator fell 1% to $8.02 in trading yesterday.

SmartPay (SPY): The payment systems comnpany’s purchase of the ETHOS software used in its EFTPOS terminals from Provenco Cadmus's receiver should help bolster profitability, says McDouall Stuart, according to the ShareChat website. If it maintains its existing customer retention rate and secures the funding it needs to complete its recent purchases, "SmartPay's future looks very positive," the brokerage said. The shares jumped 12% to 4.6 cents yesterday.

Businesswire.co.nz

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