Share prices of three companies soar abnormally

The share prices of three companies - Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Deshbandhu Polymer, and Samata Leather Complex - soared recently without any price sensitive information at the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

Following the abnormal price hikes, the Dhaka Stock Exchange made queries and the companies in their knee-jerk reactions on Thursday informed that there was no undisclosed PSI for the recent ‘unusual’ price hike.

Manipulators usually target small-cap stocks as their prices can easily be manipulated and demands inflated artificially, market insiders said.

Shares of Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, traded under the A category, saw 244 per cent price hike last month.

Its share price, which was Tk 178 on September 1, jumped to Tk 230.62 on September 9 at the DSE.

Submarine Cable was listed on the Dhaka bourse in 2012. The company’s market capitalisation is around Tk 3,655 crore, while the paid-up capital is Tk 164 crore, according to DSE data.

Meanwhile, the share price of Deshbandhu Polymer, a ‘B’ category company, saw 52.94 per cent rise last month.

The company’s share price was Tk 17.3 each on August 10 and it stood at Tk 26 at the Dhaka bourse on Thursday.

Deshbandhu Polymer was listed on the DSE in 2011. The company’s market capitalisation is around Tk 155 crore, while the paid-up capital is Tk 61 crore.

Samata Leather Complex’s share price also rose 25.57 per cent in the past one month. The price stood at Tk 115.4 at the Dhaka bourse on Thursday.

The ‘B’ category tannery company was listed on Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges in 1998. Its paid-up capital is Tk 10 crore.