Malaysia Market: Proton climbs on takeover speculation, higher TP

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 29): Shares of PROTON HOLDINGS BHD [] rose to an intra-morning high of RM3.23 on Tuesday as UOB Kay Hian Malaysia Research raised the target price to RM3.05 on a possible takeover.

At 11.32am, it was up 11 sen to RM3.19. There were 1.10 million shares done at prices ranging from RM3.16 to RM3.23.

UOB Kay Hian Research upgrade Proton to a Hold from Sell previously raised its target price to RM3.05, after imputing a 15% discount (vs 30% previously) to RNAV.

“Should Proton be able to dispose the loss-making Lotus Group, every RM100 million raised from this potential disposal could add 20 sen/share to Proton’s RNAV,” it said.

The research house said there was some truth to the constant speculation of Proton’s impending takeover, after seeing Proton’s somewhat bullish share price action (uptrend but with high volatility) over the past two weeks, recent consolidation in the auto industry (MBM Resources buying Hirotako), ongoing reforms by ailing GLCs (eg Malaysia International Shipping Corporation (MISC) has just announced its decision to cease its liner operations, once thought to be a “sacred cow”).(theedgemalaysia.com)