Best and worst of AIM in 2018: Who's up 633% and down 99%?

Few markets can generate incredible returns in a very short space of time. AIM can, but it is unforgiving too. Graeme Evans names this year's winners and losers.

A near-20% slide in the AIM All-Share in 2018 won't have stifled the festivities for some small-cap investors this Christmas, particularly those with a Tern, Bushveld Minerals, Anglo Asian or a Versarien in their portfolio.

The quartet are all popular stocks among interactive investor clients, especially now that they have at least doubled in value for the year to date.

Investment company Tern, whose portfolio is focused on the Internet of Things and Cloud sectors, has set the pace in AIM for some time with a 633% jump in price to 16.5p. This, however, only tells half the story as shares had been trading as high 47p in the summer.

Our Trends & Targets author Alistair Strang has followed Tern's fortunes closely and sees a few causes for optimism after the recent nosedive.

Bushveld Minerals is the second biggest riser in AIM, with the production company benefiting from a rising vanadium price and the shortage of supply for a mineral used extensively in the steel industry.

Energy storage is another big market opportunity for vanadium producers, helping to drive the price up by 400% between December 2015 and May 2018.

Bushveld shares are close to a record high at 46.7p, having risen by more than 400% this year. Last month, we quoted SP Angel analyst John Meyer, who said he thought the share price could reach 87p.

• Here's why AIM-listed Bushveld Minerals shares can double again

• AIM-listed Tern shares require little work to get airborne

He added:

"We are struggling to see how the market may supply demand for vanadium in the next two years and we feel vanadium prices should settle at a higher price level than previously envisaged for the longer term."

Another miner on the radar has been Anglo Asian, which has a portfolio of gold, copper and silver exploration and production assets in Azerbaijan. 

A share price rise of 172% in 2018 to 87p has been driven by the payment of  a maiden dividend in November and the prospect that production this year will be at the top end of company guidance. 

The other miners in the top 20 AIM All-Share stocks for 2018 are Ormonde Mining after a gain of 135% and Eurasia Mining, which is up 113%.

One of the better known AIM stocks on the list is the advanced engineering materials company Versarien, which trebled in value in the period up to September. There's been a sell off since then, despite significant interest in its graphene products in the UK and abroad, particularly in China.

Versarien's products are also being tested and developed in new industries such as sub-sea insulation or for use in energy storage devices. 

Biggest risers on AIM in 2018

Source: interactive investor

Among the hefty fallers in the AIM-All Share in 2018, recent newcomer Footasylum tumbled 89% after the athleisure retailer warned on profits in September due to difficult conditions on the high street.

It was also hit by delays to its programme of new store openings and upsizes ahead of the peak trading period. The company later reported an adjusted half-year loss of £4 million, despite growing revenues by 19%.

Having been valued at £171 million with a price of 164p a share when it floated in October 2017, the stock is now worth £29 million at 27.5p a share.

Mattress maker Eve Sleep has also endured an uncomfortable year, particularly after admitting in early July that trading had fallen short of its own and the market's "high expectations".

• Footasylum shares plunge 50%...again

The profit warning, which cost the job of co-founder and chief executive Jas Bagniewski, sent shares down by an initial 60%. 

The stock has continued to struggle - down 92% across 2018 - despite the appointment of former Moon Pig managing director James Sturrock as CEO and the launch of a new strategy focusing on core markets in the UK and France.

Sturrock said earlier this month that he believed a fundraising would help to put the business on a stronger footing.

Biggest fallers on AIM in 2018

Source: interactive investor