The FTSE fell 5% last month, but these shares did much better.
What a shocker! During the month of June 2010, the FTSE 100 fell 5.2%, and this coming on the back of May's disastrous 6.5% reverse. The rampaging bull market of March 2009 to April 2010 is a distant memory, replaced by the stock market summer of discontent.
Feeling nervous?
June's reverse has unnerved some investors. It has reminded them of the risks involved. It has reminded them of the fragility of the global economic recovery. With the FTSE now firmly below 5,000, fear, greed and panic are the order of the day.
And the selling may not be over yet. The market remains edgy. Investors, mindful of the shellacking their portfolios took just in 2007-08, will no doubt be keen to sell first and ask questions later.
As to what's next for this market, who knows? Will it put its May and June woes behind it and re-resume its upward momentum, or will it slump back towards 4,500 and prove those who sold in April (and went away) to be the masters of the universe?
Stars amidst the dross
As ever, there were some shares which had a truly excellent month. If you'd bought these five shares at the beginning of June, you'd be feeling rather pleased with yourself. Obviously a one-month time period is too short a space of time to measure investing success, but shareholders in these five companies won't be complaining!
As usual, here I generally try to highlight companies of interest rather than necessarily the biggest risers on the month, while seeing if any still look good value and could build on their gains in the months and years to come.
The shares you should have bought
So why did the companies listed above move so much in just a one-month period?
A great catch in the North Sea
North sea oil explorer Nautical Petroleum positively gushed upwards, soaring over 200% to 170p. Last year you could have picked up the shares for a measly 23p each, and 45p a year ago when colleague David Holding called them A Buy And Forget Oil Share. Stating the obvious, such gains can do wonders to the performance of any portfolio.
Doing the business for Nautical were excellent drilling results from their Catcher oil discovery located in UK Central North Sea, with some suggesting the find could be one of the largest in the North Sea region for several years. Nautical has a 15% equity interest in the block, as does fellow June gusher, Encore Oil (LSE: EO). To get the low-down on Nautical and Encore, and their future prospects, head over to the popular and informative Oil & Gas discussion board.
A bidding war to warm the cockles
International consultancy group Scott Wilson single handily proved the merger and acquisition market is alive and well. In the space of a couple of days, the company received takeover offers of 210p, 245p and after the market closed last night, 290p.
There's nothing better than a bidding war for shareholders in the target company, and patient shareholders in Scott Wilson, whose shares we highlighted just over a year ago at 57p, have been suitably rewarded.
Digital cameras with a difference
Shares in for academic, industrial and government digital camera developer and manufacturer Andor Technology (LSE: AND) jumped 36% in June after the company announced solid interim results. Sales were up 24% to £20m and profits up 87% to £3.3m.
A gushing CEO Conor Walsh said "The scale of improvement year on year, and the consistency of performance over the past number of years have been extraordinary", although he did also warn that Andor "is not insulated from the macro-economic environment."
Andor shares trade on a forward P/E of 14.5 and with operating margins of 13%, and rising, could be worth keeping an eye on.
Blinkx twice
Coming off last month's appearance in this column, on the back of a 103% increase in May, Blinkx shares rose another 35% in June to stand at 37p. The £103 million internet video company continues to announce new media partnerships to add to its already impressive list of 530 existing partnerships.
Analysts at Daniel Stewart are currently forecasting 2012 revenues at Blinkx of £79.5 million and EPS of 4.5 pence, putting the company on a 2012 P/E of 8.2. Look out above if they get anywhere near meeting those forecasts. As I said last month, this fast growing rising star of the UK internet industry is worth a closer look.
Long live the Internet
Sticking with the Internet theme, one of the UK's biggest success stories in this space is ASOS. Its shares rose 27% in June to 860p after the online retailer reported better than expected final results.
UK and international sales at ASOS are accelerating well, the former up 20% and the latter up a stunning 95%. All this translated into a 46% increase in EPS to 18.7p.
You have to admire ASOS' achievements to date in its first 10 years, and its ambitions for the future -- ASOS is aiming for £1 billion sales in five years from five main markets, up from £223 in 2010. The shares are hardly undiscovered, trading on a forward P/E of 28. Quality doesn't come cheap and this is a share that we have thought looked rather expensive for some time now. But it's continued to climb.
Got on any views on the prospects for these shares? Then let us know in the comment boxes below...
More on the economy and the markets:
> If you're in the market for buying shares, consider opening an online broker account with The Motley Fool's Share Dealing Service. You can buy and sell shares in real time for a flat rate of just £10. Click here to find out how you can open an account for free today.
> Sadly, Bruce Jackson doesn't have an interest in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
