CAT, CSR prop up the Silicon Fen Top 20 Index in May
The Silicon Fen Top 20 share price index* gained 4.2% in May to close the month at 126.66.
It was a strong performance when set against the 5.8% fall in both the FTSE Top 100 and techMARK 100.
It was entirely due to a strong performance by Bluetooth specialists CSR plc (CSR.L) which gained 12.5% during May and AstraZeneca's £702m recommended offer for Cambridge Antibody Technology launched on the 15th at a 70% premium to the pre-bid share price.
There were just two other shares that recorded gains during the month: ink jet specialists Domino Printing Sciences (DMO.L), up 5.9%, and specialty pharma BioProgress (BPRG.L), up 2.8%.
The other 16 were engulfed in the sea of red that spread through the stock markets. The general and widespread downturn had all the look of a correction after the sustained growth over the past few years. But technicians say the market must shed 10% to officially count as a correction.
Biggest loser was Internet-payment platform provider Bango (BGO.L) which shed 43%, a move that would take it out of the Top 20 if its relative performance is sustained through to the next revision of the Index due on 1st September.
The chase for the honour of being the Cambridge high tech Cluster's top company by market capitalisation has become a two horse race. ARM Holdings, which slipped back almost 14% this month, has held it for a while, but the strong surge by CSR over the past two months now has put their tenure under threat.
Depending on which set of figures are used either one could be in the lead, at the moment. We await monthly data from the London Stock Exchange to provide us with the photo of the finish. They both remain the region's only two billion pound companies.
Here's how the top 20 shares performed in May:
• CSR - up 12.5%
• Autonomy Corporation - down 8.2%
• Cambridge Antibody Technology - up 76%
• Domino Printing - up 5.9%
• Alizyme - down 15.5%
• Aveva -down 7.8%
• Acambis - down 5.7%
• Xaar - down 13.2%
• Cambridge Display Technology - down 9.0%
• Medical Marketing International down 16.5%
• Abcam - down 0.4%
• Dialight - down 9.9%
• Amino Technologies - down 8.8%
• BioProgress up 2.8%
• nCipher - down 9%
• Bango - down 43.2%
• Plasmon - down 11.9%
• Intercytex - down 5.4%
• Prelude Trust down 4.8%
*The Index measures the share price movements of the Top 20 companies in the region around Cambridge known as Silicon Fen as measured by market capitalization. (It appears on the left side of the web site, and is regularly updated during the day).
Because the companies are headquartered in Silicon Fen, the index is an approximation of the collective shape of the Cambridge Cluster's profitability and performance - its bottom line - as a company's share price usually reflects its performance and potential.
31st May 2006
