FRANKFURT (DEUTSCHE-BOERSE AG) - The Scale Index continues to tread water, but many companies in the segment are performing well. So well that they are being taken over, such as Vectron. Pantaflix, The Platform Group, Advanced Blockchain and the Veganz Group are also posting strong share price gains.

June 18, 2024 FRANKFURT (Frankfurt Stock Exchange). And yet another successful Scale member is acquired: The Shift4 group of companies is taking over the POS system provider Vectron (DE000A0KEXC7), as has been clear since last Friday. Vectron - known to many from bakeries - had already announced the conclusion of a "Business Combination Agreement" with the US company specializing in integrated payment and retail technology at the beginning of June. The Vectron share jumped to the takeover price of 10.50 euros following the announcement of the offer. At the beginning of the year it was still 5.78 euros, at the beginning of 2023 4 euros. The downer: the takeover will also lead to the end of Vectron's stock market listing.

The former Scale member EQS Group had already been taken over by Pineapple German Bidco GmbH, which is backed by US financial investor Thoma Bravo. As a leading provider of investor communications and one of the market leaders for digital whistleblower systems, EQS Group had benefited greatly from the new whistleblower regulations.

Share price more than doubled

Overall, however, the second and third tiers are still struggling: at 1,174 points, the Scale All Share is currently at around the same level as at the start of the year - and well below the highs from 2021 of over 1,900 points. The top performers in the Scale segment over the past twelve months are Vectron Systems and - despite recent losses - the film production company Pantaflix (DE000A12UPJ7). Both have more than doubled in price since June 2023. Software company for platform solutions The Platform Group (DE000A2QEFA1), blockchain and Web3 investor Advanced Blockchain (DE000A0M93V6) and vegan food provider Veganz Group (DE000A3E5ED2) also performed well over the past twelve months, with share price gains of between 66% and 97%.

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Video on the topic: Small caps - time for something to turn. With Bjorn Glück, Lupus alpha

While German blue chips are setting one DAX record after another, smaller companies, the small and mid caps, are lagging far behind in the share price race - even across Europe. Too cyclical, too highly indebted, too strongly focused on Germany and Europe - these are the common prejudices. Completely wrong, says fund manager Bjorn Glück from Lupus alpha, who has been responsible for a very successful small cap fund for 12 years, the Smaller German Champs (WKN 974564).

Bjorn Glück was a guest in the online session on June 10. We spoke to him about the reasons for this development and whether now is the time for small caps to catch up.

Watch the recording at youtube.com/boersefrankfurt

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Formycon: bottomed out?

Formycon (DE000A1EWVY8), the developer of biopharmaceutical follow-on products ("biosimilars"), has recently recovered somewhat from the significant price losses since the beginning of 2023. After hitting a low below EUR 38, the share is now back at EUR 46. Formycon delivered good figures for the first quarter. Formycon is also starting the clinical program for the biosimilar candidate FYB206 against lung cancer.

The analyst firm First Berlin considers the share to be far too cheap, advises buying in and names a price target of EUR 80. The share price decline of more than 40 percent since the beginning of 2023 is due to lower license income from the Lucentis biosimilar FYB201 - the first drug launched by Formycon. However, FYB201 is only one of six biosimilars to be launched by the end of this decade. First Berlin expects Formycon to generate triple-digit license fees from FYB202 ("Stelara") as early as 2026. "The current share price weakness is an opportunity to acquire Formycon shares at a favorable price ahead of the lucrative market launch of FYB202."

Man and machine with record quarter

Mensch und Maschine (M+M), a provider of CAD/CAM software (computer-aided design/manufacturing), reported the strongest quarter in the company's history. In the first quarter of 2024, the all-time record profit from the first quarter of 2023 was surpassed. In fall 2022, the share price fell to below EUR 42, but has since returned to EUR 55.80. SMC Research speaks of a "surprisingly strong" start to the new financial year. The targets for the year as a whole have been confirmed and the outlook is also good. The analysts continue to see the price target at 69 euros and continue to rate the share as a "strong buy".

Further share price losses for Cliq

By contrast, Cliq Digital, like Formycon and M+M one of the sales leaders in the Scale segment, saw its share price continue to fall. Doubts had arisen about the Düsseldorf-based streaming provider's business model, and at the beginning of May Cliq reported a significant decline in turnover and EBITDA in the first quarter. The share price halved to 8 euros within a short period of time and is currently only 7 euros. Cliq was long regarded as a shooting star, with the share price rising from around EUR 2 in summer 2019 to EUR 39 in April 2022. In the Scale segment, Cliq continues to be one of the laggards in terms of share price performance over the last twelve months, alongside the insolvent Helma Eigenheimbau (DE000A0EQ578) and the financial investor for commercial real estate Publity (DE0006972508).

The most traded Scale shares on Xetra and Borse Frankfurt in May were Cliq Digital (EUR 11.5 million), Formycon (EUR 10.9 million), 2G Energy (EUR 10.6 million), Deutsche Rohstoff and Mensch und Maschine (EUR 8.2 million each) and Data Group (EUR 8 million). Since the beginning of the year, these six shares have also had the highest turnover, but in a slightly different order: the leader 2G is followed by Cliq, Formycon, Datagroup, Deutsche Rohstoff and Mensch und Maschine.

New name: Verve SE instead of Media and Games Invest

Scale member Media and Games Invest SE has become Verve SE, while the ISIN (SE0018538068) remains the same. The renaming was decided at the Annual General Meeting last Thursday. The former games group has now become an advertising platform operator.

Rigsave (IT0005526295) has been suspended from trading since May 27.

By Anna-Maria Borse © June 18, 2024, Deutsche Borse AG

(Deutsche Borse AG is solely responsible for the content of this column. The articles are not an invitation to buy or sell securities or other assets).