A month can be a long time when looking at the share price of a particular stock. Here are two companies that have come out of the last 30 days at opposite ends of the profit/loss spectrum…
1. Hays
The share price of Hays (LSE: HAS) has advanced by over 25% during the last four weeks or so. This is in part, perhaps, on the back of a trading update, released on 11 July.
The recruitment firm saw growth of around 7% in the UK and Ireland, driven in part by an increase in their temporary staff sector by 12%. Other areas that saw growth in the UK were the private sector (up 6%) and the public sector (up 11%). Europe and the rest of the world saw similar growth figures, however, the Asia Pacific sector saw a 13% decline, and Australia an 18% decline.
CEO Alistair Cox  commented:
“We have delivered a good performance in the final quarter of our financial year. Our focus has remained on reacting quickly to the world as it changes, selectively investing in markets where we see opportunities while keeping firm control over costs around the Group. This approach, combined with the well-diversified, balanced business model we have built, means we’ve delivered a resilient financial performance for the full year. “
2. Imagination Technologies
In stark contrast, the shares of Imagination Technologies (LSE: IMG) have fallen by a rather alarming 19% to around 251p.
This may have been due to reports that emerged yesterday, informing us that the chip designer has been replaced by ARM Holdings for one of technology giant Samsung’s latest chips. The new Exynos 5 Octa smartphone will use ARM’s “Mali” technology, whereas a previous inclination of the device had used an Imagination GPU.
Analysts believe that this victory for ARM could potentially hit Imagination’s royalty revenues in the future, and also the fees it receives for each device-based design. Samsung stated that it believes that the Mali technology would “dramatically improve graphics performance”.
Another two potential winners
And here are two other stocks that we think will not only have a good month, but a great year. You can download our detailed investment report on each, absolutely FREE. One is Our Top Growth Stock for 2013, and the other Our Top Income Stock for 2013. Make sure you read these before you buy your next stock, whatever style of investor you are!
> Chris does not own any share mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares in Imagination Technologies.
