In fact, UDG reported increased operating profit across all of its divisions. Its largest unit, Ashfield Commercial & Medical Services, made strong progress in the US and Europe, thereby making up for slightly weaker performance from the UK.

Looking ahead, UDG is forecast to increase its bottom line by 9% in the current year. However, with it trading on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24.6, its upbeat growth potential appears to be sufficiently priced-in. This, plus the news of a change in CEO, means that now may not be an opportune moment to buy UDG for the long term, with a doubling in its share price being relatively unlikely.

WIZZing ahead

Also reporting today was Central and Eastern European budget airline Wizz Air (LSE: WIZZ). Its passenger statistics continue to be very positive. It saw an increase in passenger numbers of 21% in January year-on-year, due to a capacity increase of 18.2%, and a load factor rise of 1.9% to 83.5%.

With the company doubling the number of flights from Budapest to Lisbon to four times per week (starting in March) and having announced 11 new routes in January, it’s undergoing a rapid period of growth. This is expected to translate into an earnings growth rate of 29% in the current year and a further 16% next year. This puts the company’s shares on a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.8, which indicates that capital gains are very much on offer.

In fact, if Wizz Air can continue to grow at its current pace then its shares could continue to rise at the 54% rate seen in the last year, thereby making a 100% gain achievable over the long run.

Future star?

Meanwhile, low carbon technology specialist Torotrak (LSE: TRK) has today released a positive update regarding results from its on-engine V-Charge testing programme. They confirmed simulation predictions for fuel consumption and performance. Torotrak said that its V-Charge achieved the target requirements for boost pressure, mass airflow and power consumption, with it recording class-leading time to torque due to it delivering 90% of target torque in under 500ms.

Torotrak will now seek to utilise a turbocharger that will maximise the benefits of V-Charge. And with the company stating that interest in its technology continues to rise, it appears to be moving in the right direction. However, with Torotrak expected to remain lossmaking in the current financial year and next year, it may be a stock to watch rather than buy at the present time.

The post Do Updates From UDG Healthcare PLC, Wizz Air Holdings PLC And Torotrak plc Prove They Can Double In Price? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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• Why did Wizz Air shares just jump 10%?

Peter Stephens has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

The company develops variable transmission systems for vehicles, emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology, which would be a significant energy saver in these critical times of global warming — and it’s an example of the great British engineering tradition. The problem is, it’s been a very long road between drawing board and commercial success, and the company has been burning cash for years — and it’s needed a £12.4m share placing already this year.

Foecasts suggest Torotrak could be very close to break-even by the year ending March 2017, and there’s surely a possibility of profit the year after — but as recovery situations go, this one still looks too risky to me.

The world of fashion is a very risky one too, as French Connection Group (LSE: FCCN) shareholders know to their cost. The high-street chain has seen its share price lose two-thirds of its value since May 2014, to just 30.5p today, after the company recorded further ongoing losses at its interim stage this year — in fact, the shares fell 8% on results day itself as disappointment grew in line with the firm’s increasing losses.

The question is, with the firm restructuring and trying to reshape itself as a smaller but fitter business, could this be time to buy in the hope of a share price recovery? Well, French Connection has no debt — in fact, it was sitting on net cash of £23.2m at the halfway stage. So it doesn’t seem to be in any danger of going under in the near term. Investing in loss-makers in the hope of recovery is not my style, but if it is yours then you might be well advised to wait and see how Christmas trading goes this year.

Ruspetro (LSE: RPO) has suffered from the double-whammy of being a loss-making oil explorer at a time when oil prices have been plunging, and operating in Russia when that country’s international status is being steadily downgraded to pariah levels. The result has been a 90% fall in the share price in a little over two years, to just 4.3p today.

At the interim stage we heard that average daily production had risen by 16% to 3,914 bopd, though revenues fell from $27.8m to $24m in the period due to the oil slump. It sounds like the company has sufficient funding in place to be reasonably safe in the short term, and if an oil price recovery comes along in time it could be a nice recovery prospect — but for me, there really are some considerably less risky oil explorers out there if that’s what floats your boat.

The post Can Torotrak plc (-82%), French Connection Group (-67%) & Ruspetro PLC (-90%) Ever Pull It Back? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Alan Oscroft has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

An oil casualty

Look at Afren (LSE: AFR), for example. The Africa-based explorer has suffered woes, from its CEO and COO being kicked out for making “unauthorized payments“, to the firm struggling to repay some of its debts and needing interim funding to keep going. Along the way there was an aborted takeover approach from Seplat Petroleum — but at least there’s a new CEO on the horizon now.

All of that has battered the shares, which are now down 98% over the past 12 months to just 3.2p. Where do we go from here? It all depends on the outcome of the firm’s future funding and how much dilution existing shareholders stand to face — but at these price levels, a few pence either way could make a massive percentage difference. It’s a big risk for sure, but I really wouldn’t like to try to call it right now.

Is the video star really dead?

Blinkx (LSE: BLNX) was a rising small cap star with its targeted video-advertising technology, and the shares soared as high as 230p in November 2013 — since then they’ve crashed to 34p, for a fall of 85%. What went wrong, and is there a recovery on the cards?

The first crash came in January 2014, when Harvard professor Benjamin Edelman published some harsh criticism of the company. That was followed by a profit warning in July, telling us Blinkx was seeing “lower than forecast demand“, which it blamed partly on the lingering effects of Professor Edelman’s words.

Blinkx’s most recent update this month projected revenue for the year of at least $210m with adjusted EBITDA of at least $3m, with the firm having $90m in the kitty — and a “transformational” year of transition towards mobile and “programmatic” channels was highlighted. With hindsight, I do think the shares were overvalued at their peak, but growth shares often have rocky stops and starts and this is another that I think could go either way — the next two years will surely be critical.

Geared up?

Finally we come to Torotrak (LSE: TRK), a firm that develops variable transmissions and other technology for motor vehicles. For some it’s a potential growth star that’s going to clean up by improving transportation efficiency, while for others it’s a serial disappointment whose shares always seem poised to take off but still haven’t quite managed it. In fact, the shares have been dropping for the past few years, to just 8p today, and we’re still waiting for sustained profit from the company — forecasts suggest we’ll see that happening in 2017.

This month’s trading update sounded upbeat about the firm’s prospects and confirmed the appointment of the new CEO, but made it clear that “additional funding […] is likely to be required during the 2015/16 financial year“. Will Torotrak turn out to be a winner or a loser? Erm…

The post Is There A Way Back For Afren Plc, Blinkx Plc And Torotrak plc? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

More reading

• Forget meal deals! Here’s how £8 a day could be worth £357,000
• With a 7% yield, is this dividend share a no-brainer?
• The CMC Markets share price is smashing the FTSE 100 in 2026. Is there an opportunity here?
• With a yield of 6.8% and a P/E ratio of 12.1, is this a dirt cheap FTSE 250 stock to consider?
• Will SpaceX, Nvidia, or Alphabet be the first $10trn stock?

Alan Oscroft has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.