The Australian Microcap Investment Conference has once again provided investors with a plethora of actionable investment leads.
With company market capitalisations (caps) ranging from the truly tiny AEERIS FPO (ASX: AER) with a market capitalisation of just $7 million to the much larger $400 million panel repair consolidator AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA), the one thing all companies had in common was growth potential.
Another important point about these small, growth companies is that for the most part they remain off-the-radar of both brokers and investors. This under-researched situation lends itself to creating opportunity for enterprising investors keen to sniff out opportunities.
Here are three stocks which caught my eye…
Matrix Composites & Engineering Limited (ASX: MCE) was once a $750 million company with a share price north of $10, but today is a relative minnow with a market cap of just $60 million and a share price of 63 cents.
Matrix is a leading developer and manufacturer of subsea buoyancy systems for use in the oil and gas industry. Obviously its business is currently feeling the pressures of reduced capital spending as a result of the weak oil price, however, the company remains profitable and with a strong balance sheet which should see it weather the current storm.
Australian Ethical Investment Limited's (ASX: AEF) share price is trading close to an all-time high putting the company's market cap at around $70 million.
Australian Ethical is a fund manager which operates in the growing niche of investment management that meets a range of social, environmental and ethical principles. The company currently has $1.2 billion in funds under management.
IDT Australia Limited (ASX: IDT) has been a great performer for shareholders in the past year with the stock up 85% which has boosted IDT's market cap to $73 million.
IDT owns and operates a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility and in 2014 the group acquired a range of US generic drug products which will see IDT expand into the generics market under a distribution agreement with US-based ANI Pharmaceuticals Inc. It has plans to sell the generics into major pharmacy chains such as Walmart, CVS, RiteAid and Walgreens.
