Nigerian stocks were up two per cent last week, reaching a height last seen some fourteen years ago as a great deal of investor’s cash poured into equities.

A couple of first quarter financial reports were issued during the week and some came with strong earnings performance, raising hopes that the development could help sustain the positive momentum in the market a little while.

A number of stocks with fundamentals and other potential, adopting key analytical approaches to save you the hassle of randomly picking equities for investment has been assembled for you from city radio.

The selection, a product of analytical market watch, offers a guide to entering the market and taking strategic positions in hopes that equities will gain value with the passage of time, particularly in the short term.

This is not a buy, sell or hold recommendation but a stock investment guide. You may have to involve your financial advisor before taking investment decisions.

LAFARGE AFRICA

Lafarge Africa topped this week’s selection on the basis of recording a 92.2 per cent jump in after-tax profit in the three months to March, lifting bottom line to N17.6 billion.

The cement manufacturer’s earnings per share (EPS) at the end of the last trading session was N3.17, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 7.34x.

INDUSTRIAL & MEDICAL GASES NIGERIA

Industrial & Medical Gases appears on the pick for recording a 116.8 per cent surge in post-tax profit to N130.6 million for first quarter 2022

Its EPS at the close of the last trading session was 9.65x, while its EPS is N0.90.

STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS

Stanbic IBTC makes this week’s selection for recording an after-tax profit of N15.1 billion for the first quarter, more than a third higher that its figure for the same period of 2021.

The lender’s PE ratio as of the last trading session was 7.33 with an EPS of N4.54.

AFRICA PRUDENTIAL

Africa Prudential made the pick for posting a net profit of N403.1 million for the first quarter of this year, translating to a 5.7 per cent improvement over what was recorded a year earlier.

The firm’s EPS at the end of the last trading session was N0.71 with a PE ratio of 8.62x.

NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS

Neimeth features on the pick for trading at its lowest price level in 52 weeks, brightening its chances of seeing a good price appreciation in future.

The drug-maker’s PE ratio was 18.42x as of the end of the last trading session, while its EPS is N0.07.

CONOIL

Conoil features in the pack for currently trading significantly below its intrinsic value. The company’s EPS as of Friday was N4.45 with a PE ratio of 5.89x.

Twitter set to accept Musk’s original $43 bln offer

Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) is poised to agree a sale to Elon Musk for around $43 billion in cash, the price the chief executive of Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has called his “best and final” offer for the social media company, people familiar with the matter said.

Twitter may announce the $54.20-per-share deal later on Monday once its board has met to recommend the transaction to Twitter shareholders, the sources said. It is always possible that the deal collapses at the last minute, the sources added.

Musk, the world’s richest person according to a tally by Forbes, is negotiating to buy Twitter in a personal capacity and Tesla is not involved in the deal.