3 Orion firms see unusual price hike of stocks

Stocks of Orion Infusion soared more than five times in recent months despite having low earnings per share and repeated warnings from the company that it has no undisclosed information that could have spurred such an abnormal rise.

Orion Infusion, a concern of Orion Group, saw its stock price jump to Tk 583 from Tk 105 over the past two months, according to data from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

Stock market analysts allege the company's stocks are rising for manipulation as its earnings are poor.

Orion Infusion logged profits of Tk 2.91 crore between July 2021 and March 2022 of the preceding fiscal year, up 28 per cent from Tk 2.27 crore in the same period of fiscal 2020-21.

Its earnings per share in the first three quarters of fiscal 2021-22 was Tk 1.43 while it was Tk 1.12 at the same time the previous year, as per the company's financial report.

Meanwhile, Orion's turnover was Tk 61 crore during the same period, when the company's paid-up capital was Tk 20 crore.

The total value of the company's shares traded over the past two months amounted to Tk 1,375 crore.

A top official of a leading stock brokerage, preferring anonymity, said Orion's stocks are rising based on a rumour that some big investors are manipulating their value.

Stocks of Orion Pharmaceuticals, another concern of Orion Group, also ballooned 80 per cent to Tk 145 from Tk 80 in the last two months even though it assured that there was no undisclosed information that could have influenced such a rise.

Its earnings per share stood at Tk 3.07 in the first nine months of fiscal 2021-22 while it was Tk 2.98 at the same time the year before, DSE data shows.

Similarly, Kohinoor Chemicals, another subsidiary of Orion Group, saw its stock value skyrocket by 92 per cent to Tk 735 from Tk 382 in the past two months.

Kohinoor's earnings per share was Tk 9.24 in the July 2021-March 2022 period while it was Tk 7.11 at the same time the previous year.