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As an alleged finance journalist for HotCopper, I’d be remiss not to talk about the one stock that, on average, is arguably the most favoured by far over the course of the last half-decade, if you ignore Pilbara Minerals: I’m talking about love-them-or-hate-them energy microcap explorer Invictus Energy (ASX:IVZ), a gas hopeful based in Zimbabwe.
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After years of stagnancy, based on constant delays to government documentation (and apparent trouble on-site, both when it comes to equipment and finding gas), Invictus staged a comeback story only week ago when it revealed the Qatari Royal Family would be buying a stake of 19.9% for around $40M.
Days later, the government of Zimbabwe notarised the company’s flagship project in that jurisdiction as one of national importance, showing just what a healthy dose of good old Gulf State oil money can achieve. Combined with that, and the general show of confidence that many interpreted from the Qatari dynasty’s investment, the stock quickly popped above 20cps for the first time since October 2023.
That was always a risky move – the Qatari stake in Invictus implied a valuation of around 10cps, but the market ignored that. Surely, punters thought, this surplus of Middle Eastern wealth is going to assist us in rapidly finding gas and proving once and for all the bodacious claims the company has long asserted: That it sits atop trillions of cubic feet of gas. (To date, this remains to be proven true, but it’s possible.)
However, this week, Invictus has been undone by a far more pedestrian occurrence familiar to any HotCopper netizen worth their salt – confidence in a fair value over 20cps was shaken this week when Invictus effectively raised capital at 9.5cps, sending the share price plummeting back down to 16.5cps.
CLARIFICATION: The above deal refers to the original agreement with Qatari entities to acquire a 40% stake of the company, and not a second new deal, with some other party.
A trading halt preceded that news, and then perhaps somewhat amusingly, a trading halt immediately followed – leaving the IVZ share price frozen just above 15cps on Friday.
So, on Monday, as stated in the company’s Thursday trading halt request, the market will learn about an update to the Qatari royal family buy-in – with many on the forums now digesting what this could mean.
Time will tell, but if you’ve just checked your portfolio on Friday because you’ve been trying not to look at it, now you’re up to speed.
IVZ last traded at 16.5cps.
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