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鈥檚 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 鈥 Global Standard.
鈥淎P 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鈥 radar,鈥 she said in an e-mail last Friday, referring to the company鈥檚 ticker symbol.
In a Viber message, Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Darren Blaine T. Pangan attributed AboitizPower鈥檚 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 鈥 its second renewable energy (RE) project after the 59-MW solar facility in San Carlos, Negros Occidental.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no secret that AP is keen on expanding its Cleanergy portfolio in the next decade. As such, it鈥檚 highly likely that this isn鈥檛 the last RE investment we will see from the company,鈥 said Ms. Agravio.
鈥淭he Pangasinan solar plant and future RE projects would enable AP to benefit from the government鈥檚 renewable energy legislation,鈥 she added.
For Mr. Pangan, investors鈥 may still be on a 鈥渨ait-and-see鈥 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鈥檚 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 鈥減ull back slightly鈥 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. 鈥 Abigail Marie P. Yraola
