If only
Online grocery retailer Ocado (LSE: OCDO) is among the UK's most shorted stocks, but its shares have rocketed since November, when it announced plans to build a warehouse for and license its technology to French supermarket chain Groupe Casino. Two weeks ago it announced another deal to help Sobeys, one of Canada's largest food retailers, build a warehouse outside Toronto and allow the chain to use its e-commerce platform. And this week, despite announcing a profit warning and a pre-tax loss of £500,000 in 2017, it placed £143m of shares with investors, representing around 5% of additional share capital.
Be glad you didn't
Construction firm Galliford Try (LSE: GFRD) has suffered following the collapse of Carillion. In January the firm, which is working with Carillion and Balfour Beatty on the £550m Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route road, said it may have to fork out an extra £30m-£40m to complete the project. Earlier in April its shares also plunged when it abandoned an effort to buy rival builder Bovis Homes, following a £1.2bn approach. To add insult to injury, Bovis, having rebuffed Galliford's advances, hired one of its former CEOs.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
Cash in on the growth prospects of Europe's companiesOpinion Marcel Stötzel, co-portfolio manager of the Fidelity European Trust, selects three stocks
-
Is the AI boom another dotcom bubble?25 years on from the dotcom bubble bursting, is it time for investors to consider the sustainability of the AI boom in the stock market?
