The consolidation of the shares of Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. (TSE:PTQ) (OTC:PTQMF) continues. Over the last half a month, PTQ has been cruising in close proximity around the $0.70 level. No company news has been issued, perhaps this is the reason for the tranquil move of the stock. Is this a calm before the storm? We are about to see.
Yesterday, PTQ finished at $0.70, gaining 1.45% from the previous close. The volume was not thrilling either. The 592K shares traded are near the company’s average. Petaquilla has not released any positive developments lately to support the upward movement of the stock.
Probably, this might explain the downfall of PTQ during the last months. Back in February, the shares were traded at $1.25, now they are 44% down. May the stock climb to its old glory?
The fundamentals imply this is difficult to be accomplished. As written in a previous article, in the end of February, the company reported a working capital deficiency of about $24M. For the nine months ended Feb. 28, 2011 the net loss was $9.33M. It is obvious, Petaquilla would perhaps need to raise additional funds in the future in order to continue the development of its Molejon Gold project.
In contrast to that, we should point out some positive figures from the reports too. Petaquilla recorded a net income of $2.1M for the quarter ended Feb. 28, 2011, compared to a net loss of $5.6M for the corresponding period in 2010. We might also outline the favorable data related to the metal sales revenues. These are 68% higher than the relevant period in 2010.
Finally, we could mention several older positive developments. Though announced earlier, they give additional hope for a possible rise in the share price. Petaquilla is expanding – in April it received a conditional approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange for the proposed acquisition of Iberian Resources Corp. Also in April, the company informed about the expansion of its production system at the Molejon gold mine.
