RENK facing takeover? Crash at Novo Nordisk! Buying opportunity in AJN Resources shares!

AJN Resources: New momentum for the share

The gold price is currently taking a breather at a high level. Investors can use this opportunity to position themselves for the next rally. There are many reasons for the upward trend to continue: geopolitical tensions, inflation, currency risks, and increased purchases by central banks. In such an environment, shares in exploration companies are likely to perform well. AJN Resources is an interesting comeback story in this sector.

The Company, with experienced geologist Klaus Eckhof as CEO, is currently focusing on the Okote project. The 42.8 km2 area is located only 100 km from Ethiopia's largest deposit, Lega Dembi. The previous owner (Godu General Trading S.C.) had already drilled nearly 14,000 meters in 2019. This revealed mineralization between 1.6 and 8.7 grams per ton. Eckhof sees the potential for several million ounces of gold.

AJN announced an important step yesterday to verify this. It has received permission to begin due diligence for the Okote Gold project. In the next step, AJN will prepare detailed mapping and drilling programs for areas outside the already tested area. In addition, drill cores from historical drilling and a series of trenches already excavated by Godu will be examined. To confirm the historical drill results, a 1,500-meter drilling program is scheduled to start within 4 to 6 weeks.

AJN CEO Klaus Eckhof commented: "We are very pleased to have finally received approval to commence due diligence on the Okote Gold project, where recent desktop studies indicate that only 25% of the identified mineralized area has been covered by drilling. We have always believed that the project has tremendous potential that has not yet been tested by drilling, and this appears to be the case."

The regular news flow expected in the coming months should provide AJN's stock with new momentum. With a market capitalization of less than CAD 10 million, the Company appears to be anything but highly valued.

RENK: New major shareholder - What is next?

Is the takeover merry-go-round picking up speed in the defense sector? It has been known for several weeks that tank manufacturer KNDS is expected to go public and that the German government could get involved.

Now KNDS is increasing its stake in RENK. According to a statement released on Monday, KNDS has acquired 9,166,667 RENK shares from financial investor Triton. The price at which the shares were acquired was not disclosed. This makes the French-German defense group the largest RENK shareholder with a stake of 15.8%.

However, the deal did not go entirely smoothly. According to Manager Magazin, there were disagreements between KNDS and Triton in the run-up to the agreement. The purchase option between the two was agreed upon at the time of RENK's IPO in early 2024. The IPO price was set at EUR 15, and the option to purchase 18.4% was set at EUR 20. After the sharp rise in the share price, Triton apparently wanted to renegotiate. After all, RENK shares are currently trading at around EUR 68. The agreement appears to be that KNDS has only exercised half of the option, and Triton will retain the remaining shares.

RENK is an important supplier for KNDS. The Augsburg-based company supplies gearboxes for the Leopard 2 battle tank built by KNDS, among other things. The two companies also collaborate on other vehicles.

It will be exciting to see what Triton does with the remaining RENK shares. In any case, there appears to be movement among European defense companies. It should be noted that governments in Germany and France, in particular, are vying for influence. Recently, various media outlets reported disagreements over plans for the new generation of joint combat aircraft (Future Combat Air System).

Novo Nordisk: Buy after the crash?

While the outlook for AJN and RENK is positive, Novo Nordisk shocked the markets yesterday with a revenue and profit warning.

The Danish pharmaceutical company lowered its forecasts. The expected revenue growth for 2025 was revised down from 13%-21% to 8%-14%. EBIT growth was scaled back from 16%-24% to 10%-16%. These reductions are mainly due to disappointing growth indicators for the blockbuster products Ozempic and Wegovy in the crucial US market. Increasing competition and ramp-up issues are weighing on the Company.

Investors reacted with panic. In an initial reaction, the share price fell by well over 20%. As a result, Novo Nordisk's share price has lost around 45% in the current year. Since its all-time high in June 2024 at around EUR 130, the decline has even exceeded 60%. The share price is now below its pre-Ozempic hype level.

A takeover is unlikely at RENK at the moment. Nevertheless, developments in the European defense industry are exciting. The supercycle has only just begun and is likely to hold a few surprises. Shares of AJN Resources could surprise on the upside in the coming months. At any rate, a steady flow of news is expected. Positive news is still anticipated from Novo Nordisk for the time being. However, the price decline seems somewhat exaggerated. The stock should be worth buying in the medium to long term.