IkeGPS continues run, up 8.6%; NZX 50 performance still bumpy - Market close

IkeGPS is one of the best performing stocks on the market this year. Photo / Supplied

Two positive announcements for small-cap companies were not enough to keep the benchmark above the ledger to start the week.

Across the main board, 26.8 million shares worth $92.3m changed hands.

The S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.6% to 12,678.69 points, continuing steady losses since the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) held the official cash rate (OCR) at 3.25% on Wednesday last week.

Craigs Investment Partners’ senior research analyst, Mohandeep Singh, said property stocks had continued their strong performance during a quiet day on the exchange.

“Everyone’s loving the yield names today; they seem to be the best performers of the day.”

Kiwi Property Group led the way, rising 1.04% to $0.97, with Goodman Property not far behind, up 0.98% to $2.07.

Singh also highlighted Briscoe Group, which gained 2.65% to $5.81.

“I think that’s just a bit of volatility since it’s been added into the NZX 50 recently,” Singh said.

Gentrack was among the day’s largest decliners, down 4.23% to $12 on volumes exceeding $1.7m in value traded.

Ahead of close, Singh said there were “two big trades that equate for about 95% of the volume”.

Tech small caps

IkeGPS Group shares lifted 8.6% to $1.01 after it announced it had successfully raised about A$18m (NZ$19.6m) through a fully underwritten share placement.

The software company said its offer was strongly supported by existing investors and attracted several new long-term institutional investors from the ASX.

The firm is trading at 52-week highs and is up above $1 for the first time since 2021.

Black Pearl Group shares were up 7.08% to $1.21 after it said it had agreed to buy 100% of United States-based AI sales company B2B Rocket Inc.

B2B Rocket uses AI agents to automate outbound sales for small and mid-sized businesses. It generates about US$2.1m (NZ$3.4m) in annual recurring revenue and is growing quickly in the US market.

Chief executive Nick Lissette called the acquisition a “classic 1 + 1 = 3″.

In October last year, Black Pearl tapped investors for $10m to fund further expansion in the US. Like IkeGPS, the stock is up over 100% year on year.

Elsewhere

In a Forsyth Barr investor note, analysts Aaron Ibbotson and Benjamin Crozier raised their Ryman Healthcare target price by 20 cents to $2.85 because of earnings upgrades released late last week.

Ibbotson and Crozier said forward-looking sales have improved to about 90% of their two-year average, up from 75% last quarter.

“One swallow does not make a summer, but we view this as an important step in de-risking the investment case.”

The exchange’s other two retirement operators, Summerset Group and Oceania Healthcare, were up 0.77% to $11.72 and down 1.32% to 75c, respectively.

Singh said the industry would be watching the Real Estate Institute of NZ’s (REINZ) data release on Tuesday, which would help the market see whether Ryman was a standout or part of a wider trend.

He added that the index’s largest constituent, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, was yet to be visibly affected by US President Donald Trump’s renewed tariffs on Mexico, where the firm manufactures many of its products.

The stock lifted 0.79% to $35.90 on volumes worth nearly $6m.

“FPH did not move much today, despite that, because at the moment, the products that they ship out of Mexico are still exempt under a free-trade agreement,” he said.

“This kind of builds on that expectation that at some point there could be a hit in terms of the Mexican production that FPH has.”