Trade alert: Closing out a big, fast win + Imagine being attacked every 11 seconds.
22nd April 2021 |
Are you like me? Do you receive a lot of emails in your personal inbox from unwanted suitors?
Specifically, we’re talking about e-mails that appear normal on the surface, but in reality aren’t so friendly.
Luckily email providers like Gmail are pretty good at filtering the nefarious emails into the SPAM folder. But some still slip through the cracks.
Even I still get an email from time to time about and “unclaimed lottery prize” that’s been tracked to me.
Hopefully, this is the point where you also realise it’s a complete scam. There is no ‘prize’ waiting for you.
The process described above is known as “phishing.” It is a form of cyber-attack. Cyber-attacks are a threat to your internet security.
Unfortunately in an ever-more connected world these kinds of phishing attempts (and worse) are more and more common. They’re more sophisticated and they’re easier to fall for.
This plays into the hands of attackers. They are enjoying an age of advanced technology, where the knowledge gap only increases between the average internet user and the high-tech attackers.
It’s also not just individuals that are at risk.
The latest high-profile cyber-attack saw the Russian foreign intelligence service target SolarWinds. SolarWinds is an American software provider that host sensitive information from global organisations, including the US government.
The attack, which took place in December 2020, affected 18,000 organisations. It was only confirmed last week the attack was from Russian intelligence after much speculation about its origin.
Another recent attack on 3 April saw Sepa, Scotland’s environmental watchdog, spend £800,000 in its recovery response to an attack. More than 4,000 files had been stolen by hackers.
Stories such as these help to highlight the risks that we all face in a digital world. It’s easy to ignore these threats, until they land on your doorstep.
But they can be disastrous. For companies, as well as huge financial costs, these attacks can incur intangible costs such as damage to their reputation and integrity.
The statistics surrounding cyber-attacks are remarkable. This year, a company will fall victim to a cyber-attack every 11 seconds. In addition, cyber-crime is expected to cost companies $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015.
It’s no wonder that demand for internet security products is on the rise.
Corero Network Security (LSE:CNS) specialises in providing high-performance cyber defence solutions. They are one company we see as being perfectly poised to benefit from the rise in cyber-attacks and the market opportunity that presents.
The company revealed an upgrade of their Smart Protect solution on 4 March. It is a premium value-add upgrade which will provide customers with more control when defending against attacks. For example, the solution will be able block select traffic to the victim instead of all traffic (good and bad) in a matter of seconds.
Corero CTO Ashley Stephenson stated that it will help “customers gain a competitive advantage” and “generate incremental recurring revenue”.
Blancco Technology Group (LSE:BLTG) is another company that is helping to protect our world from the risks of attacks.
Their advanced data erasure software is helping to wipe sensitive data from devices that could be easily attacked and compromised.
The software is cost-effective, secure and eco-friendly. It allows businesses to re-use mobile and laptop devices, adhere to data privacy requirements and sanitise any data that could be accessed hackers.
Also, it’s not every day that one of our stocks announces a partnership with another of the stocks in our portfolio. Blancco have done just this, announcing a partnership with data-migration company WANdisco on 24 March .
Both companies are teaming up on a ‘Laptop for Kids’ campaign, a project designed to deliver devices to schools in need across the north of England. So far, Blancco’s data erasure software has helped to securely erase 1,400 donated devices for free.
As highlighted, the cyber defence industry is facing increased demand thanks to the growing number of cyber-attacks that continue to plague the technology world. There is a growing need for businesses to defend themselves against them due to the colossal financial and business impact they can have.
We believe that Blancco Tech group and Corero Network Security provide fantastic opportunities to ride the cyber security wave.
With both stocks trading over their buy limits, they remain HOLD recommendations.
Trade Alert: SELL Warpaint London
Warpaint London (LSE:W7L) was recommended 11 months ago. You can find the recommendation here. And it got off to an auspicious start immediately shooting higher to around 70GBp.
Then for the rest of 2020 it didn’t do much at all. This is of course a stock whose primary revenues are from retail sales. And considering the hit to retail companies over 2020, going sideways wasn’t that big a deal. It was certainly better than heading lower.
But the view was always that Warpaint would benefit from the reopening of the economy. Which is exactly what’s taken place.
Warpaint has seen a strong first quarter and is flourishing now that people are re-entering society again as restrictions are being lifted.
This has now also been reflected in the stock price which has taken a significant leap higher in the last week.
That is a leap that has taken us now to a 147.27% gain on the stock. That’s a tremendous result for a small-cap UK cosmetics company. And it’s a tremendous result in just 11 months considering the state of society for the last year.
The temptation is to just let it ride and see how high it can go. But that’s not prudent investing. 147% is an outcome which means we think profits should be taken off the table and a strong win locked in.
If you’ve made a great result on Warpaint, of course we’d love to hear from you – so make sure to write in to me and let me know about your Warpaint Win here.
Action to take: SELL Warpaint London (LSE:W7L) current price 136 GBp. We will record a 147.27% gain for track record purposes.
Stock Focus
Marston’s (LON:MARS)
Over the past few weeks, you may have seen the news about the possibility of vaccine certificates being introduced in the hospitality sector. The UK government hinted at these measures to help us safely return to pubs and restaurants.
However, the idea has been badly received, with the hospitality sector labelling the scheme ‘unworkable’ and discriminatory.’
Since the response, the government has backtracked on the idea, and it now looks as if vaccine certificates will not be implemented.
This is excellent news for Marston’s. It means their customers will be able to enjoy their pubs regardless of whether they’ve been vaccinated or not.
Marston’s has re-opened around 70 percent of its pubs in England in line with the national re-opening that took place on 12 April. The majority of Marston’s Scottish and Welsh pubs are set to open on 26 April .
On the basis that the government roadmap is adhered to, their remaining pubs in England will open on 17 May, with restricted indoor trading. The company is assuming a return to normal trading conditions on 21 June.
Marston’s is due to announce half-year results for the period to 3 April 2021 on 19 May. As ever, we will keep you posted.
With lockdown easing and their pubs having re-opened, we are optimistic that Marston’s will see increased footfall and revenues. There is also the added bonus of summer being just around the corner, which will undoubtedly help to boost sales.
Keep holding Marston’s. We are optimistically expecting much more from the company this year.
Velocys (LON:VLS)
Velocys has announced that it is going to be extending its current options agreement with British Airways for the Altalto project to 2022. Altalto is a collaboration between the two entities which focuses on converting commercial waste to transport fuels.
The agreement presents Velocys with 50 percent equity ownership of Altalto, with British Airways owning the other 50 percent.
In addition, the UK government announced the launch of a new £15 million ‘Green Fuels, Green Skies’ grant funding competition. Altalto intends to apply for a grant in this competition on behalf of Velocys and British Airways. Results of the competition will be announced on 31 July 2021.
This highlights Velocys’ continued involvement in driving the government’s green agenda. With the UK looking to speed up its reduction in carbon emissions, Velocys’ sustainable fuel products will help companies adhere to the regulations laid out to achieve this.
Although the portfolio return is negative, Velocys remains an active buy whilst below our buy limit.
The Frontier Tech Investor “Top Three”
Sometimes it’s hard to decide on which stocks to invest in from our buy list
Below is our Frontier Tech Investor “Top Three” section showing three stocks in open BUY positions. If you’re trying to figure out what to invest in next, these are three that we think are a great place to start.
This doesn’t mean our other stocks are no good: this is just a tool to help you spot the next Frontier Tech Investor stock that could be worthy of your consideration.
Kanabo Group (LON:KNB) – one of the world’s most controversial investment ideas is based around the legalisation of medicinal and recreational cannabis. It’s sweeping across Canada and now the US. Both countries are leaders on the way to legalisation. In Australia a similar path is being followed. And now the UK is on the same track. Kanabo is one of the newest and best plays into this huge investment opportunity. You can find our recommendation here.
IQE (LON: IQE)– our most recent recommendation, IQE, is a key part of the supply chain getting semiconductors into the world. You can find a link to the original report here. With a gigantic increase in the demand for semiconductors the world is facing a “chipageddon”. This is a situation where there simply aren’t enough semiconductors to supply the world’s biggest, most demanding companies. IQE is one of the few UK listed stocks that are a play on this theme.
Velocys – there’s no doubt that governments are going to continue to push their “green agenda”. This means that they will do what they can to support industry in ways that will help enable carbon neutral economies. Velocys is a big part of this developing sustainable fuels for transport and logistics (in particular aviation) with pioneering technology. Some discussion can be found above, and a link to our report on Velocys can be found here. If you’re looking for a great “green energy” play, Velocys is a very good place to start.
Until next time,
Sam Volkering
Editor, Frontier Tech Investor
Elliott Playle
Junior Analyst, Frontier Tech Investor
