Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2013; the share prices, 90-day returns and Bankia level it cites are from the session of 22 October 2013. Several of these companies have since changed considerably; Bankia, for instance, was absorbed by CaixaBank in 2021.
Investor optimism about Spain has fired the starting gun for a recovery in the market value of the most battered companies on the Mercado Continuo (Spain’s main electronic trading platform, where most listed Spanish companies trade), where we already have clear winners thanks to their sky-high returns over the last 90 days.
The big winner has been Quabit, which in recent months has gone from €0.041 to €0.205, a return of 400%. My sincerest congratulations to those who, against all forecasts and despite “arguments” with yours truly, decided to take on that risk, because returns like that do not come along every day. Still, be very careful.
The second-best stock has been URBAS, Grupo Financiero. This company, which I nickname “the living dead” because it has no business pulse and, on the up days, trades almost its entire market capitalisation, has gone from €0.011 to €0.0385, a return of roughly 250%.
In third place, with a 220% rise over the last 90 days, we have Ezentis, which has gone from €0.13 to €0.416.
The euphoria has reached practically every stock on the Continuo: Service Point Solutions is also up 190%, and even Bankia is heading for €1.35.
Still, remember that when we invest in penny stocks with any aim other than pure speculation, we should invest in those that at least have real business volume.
Featured image: Borkur Sigurbjornsson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
