A very important development

Shares in GTS Chemical (LSE: GTS) have soared by around 17% today after it announced that it has received a certificate of registration from the American Petroleum Institute for conformance with the API Specification Q1.

This specification should further establish GTS’s brands, which in turn could attract more distributors and differentiate the company from its competitors. And with its being received for the quality management on nine of GTS’s products — including the core business divisions of ammonium sulphite, ammonium bisulfite and lubricating oil — it could prove to be a very important development for the company.

Looking ahead, GTS is forecast to post a fall in earnings in the current year of 6%. While this could hurt investor sentiment in the short run, the speciality chemicals company is due to increase its bottom line by 13% next year. This puts it on a forward price to earnings (P/E) ratio of just 3.9, which indicates that its shares are cheap and could be due for an upward rerating over the medium to long term.

Disappointing performance 

Also among today’s major movers is Stanley Gibbons (LSE: SGI), with the antiques and stamp collector posting a fall in its share price of around 9%. Given the company’s woes during the course of the year, this is perhaps unsurprising since investor sentiment is now rather weak. In fact, Stanley Gibbons’ shares have fallen by 84% since the turn of the year and there could be more pain to come. That’s because the company is set to endure a challenging period, with profitability forecast to come under pressure in the next financial year.

While Stanley Gibbons has the potential to turn its disappointing performance around, its risk/reward ratio seems to be relatively unappealing. That’s especially the case since there are a number of other smaller companies that are on the cusp of improved financial performance and which offer good value for money at the present time.

In a stronger position

Meanwhile, shares in Redx Pharma (LSE: REDX) have been down by as much as 10% today despite the drug development company having released no significant news flow. Of course, Redx recently conducted a £10m placing and the proceeds are set to be used to progress the company’s drug pipeline and to also further develop Redx’s other assets in immune-oncology, infection and immunology. And with the net proceeds strengthening the company’s balance sheet, Redx seems to be in a stronger position after the placing.

Clearly, Redx’s share price performance since the start of the year has been very poor. Its valuation has declined by around 55% and while it has significant long term potential, it may prudent for risk averse investors to look for greater stability and consistency elsewhere in the health care space.