Shares round-up: Endeavour Mining, Hikma, Trainline, PureTech Health

Stock markets remain volatile, but there are still some great companies generating solid returns for investors. 

Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV), whose West Africa gold operations have propelled the company into the FTSE 100 index, continues to impress after smashing production forecasts today.

Shares jumped 189p to 2130p as Endeavour’s 14% quarterly production rise proved to be one of the stand-out performances in an otherwise lacklustre reporting season for the sector.

With its assets spanning Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, Endeavour stuck by full-year earnings guidance today after offsetting inflationary pressures through favourable exchange rates, long-term supply contracts and cost optimisation.

Its cash position improved by $90 million (£72.7 million) to $167 million (£135 million) in the quarter,  boosting City optimism over future shareholder returns. Endeavour returned $100 million (£80.8 million) to shareholders over the quarter through dividends and buybacks, taking the total since starting the programme in early 2021 to $369 million (£298 million).

Today’s share price rise leaves the company trading at another record high, having secured promotion to London’s blue-chip index in the March reshuffle.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HIK) stood at the other end of the FTSE 100 today after it downgraded revenues and margin guidance for its generics division due to the earlier-than-expected launch of a rival product in the United States.

Peel Hunt said the “phasing issue” meant a potential 33% hit to Generics’ operating profit and 10% for the group overall in 2022. Shares fell 151p to 1701.5p, which compares with more than 2,000p prior to last week’s trading update and the broker’s 2,460p target price.

In the FTSE 250 index, Trainline (LSE:TRN) shares picked up speed as the session went on after its annual results included stronger-than-expected guidance for the new financial year.

As long as there’s no further disruption to rail services, the European ticketing firm is looking for net sales of between £3.8 billion and £4.2 billion and revenues in the range of £280 million and £310 million. These figures are better than those produced in the 2020 financial year, which was the last one before Covid disrupted its performance.

The shares were languishing at 159p in early March but have almost doubled in the period since then, including today’s surge of 31.8p to 309.7p. However, the FTSE 250-listed stock is still a long way off the 500p seen last year prior to the government announcing plans for a rival Great British Railways ticketing app.

Other big risers in the FTSE 250 included PureTech Health (LSE:PRTC), which jumped 11.8p to 180p after the clinical-stage biotherapeutics company unveiled plans for a share buyback programme worth up to $50 million (£40.4 million).

A strong first quarter update from Morgan Advanced Materials (LSE:MGAM) sent its shares 21.5p higher to 295p, reflecting optimism at the carbon and thermal ceramics business after it achieved sales 10.9% higher than a year earlier.

The pace of growth is expected to moderate amid challenges in the wider economy, but the company still sees organic revenues growth of between 4% and 7% across 2022.

Chief executive Pete Raby also pledged to increase exposure to faster growing segments, such as clean energy, clean transportation, semiconductors and healthcare.