INVESTORS took positions on Aboitiz Power Corp. last week after being dropped from the MSCI Philippine Standard Index.
Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed that a total of P188.93-million AboitizPower shares worth P4.04 billion were traded from May 24 to 28. This made the conglomerate the second-most actively traded issue last week in the local bourse.
Week on week, the AboitizPower’s share price grew by 6.1% to P23.40 per share last Friday from its May 21 closing price of P22.05 apiece. Since the start of the year, the stock has fallen by 13.3%.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Equity Analyst Anna Corenne M. Agravio said despite a strong showing last Friday, AboitizPower share price experienced a downtrend last week after being deleted from the MSCI Philippines Index – Global Standard.
“AP is still trading close to its historic lows despite the Friday breakout, so it would be safe to say that AP is still within the investors’ radar,” she said in an e-mail last Friday, referring to the company’s ticker symbol.
In a Viber message, Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Darren Blaine T. Pangan attributed AboitizPower’s closing higher on end-of-month window dressing.
The MSCI Philippine Standard Index last May 11 removed AboitizPower, Megaworld Corp., and Puregold Price Club, Inc. effective as of close of May 27. Meanwhile, Petron Corp. was dropped from the MSCI Philippines Small Cap Index, while Century Pacific Food, Inc., Megaworld, Puregold, and Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. were included.
The MSCI indices are reviewed quarterly and rebalanced twice a year to ensure that an index still acts as an effective benchmark for the market it represents.
Meanwhile, AboitizPower is developing a 74-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Bugallon, Pangasinan — its second renewable energy (RE) project after the 59-MW solar facility in San Carlos, Negros Occidental.
“It’s no secret that AP is keen on expanding its Cleanergy portfolio in the next decade. As such, it’s highly likely that this isn’t the last RE investment we will see from the company,” said Ms. Agravio.
“The Pangasinan solar plant and future RE projects would enable AP to benefit from the government’s renewable energy legislation,” she added.
For Mr. Pangan, investors’ may still be on a “wait-and-see” stance as they monitor how the development stage of the said project unfolds, adding that its commercial operations are targeted to commence by the fourth quarter of 2022.
AboitizPower’s attributable net income during the first quarter jumped by threefold to P6.18 billion from P2.06 billion last year.
For this week, Ms. Agravio sees AboitizPower to “pull back slightly” as it nears immediate resistance at P24, while support is at P20.
Mr. Pangan gave AbotizPower support and resistance levels at P20.50 and P24. — Abigail Marie P. Yraola
