KUALA LUMPUR (June 2): Malakoff Corp Bhd shares are actively traded today, analyst attribute the buying interest to fact that the independent power producer (IPP) has been included on the Securities Commission of Malaysia’s (SC) shariah-compliant list.

At 3.15pm today, Malakoff gained seven sen to RM1.88, with some 35.3 million shares changing hands making it the third most actively traded stock on Bursa Malaysia. Its market capitalisation stand at RM9.35 billion.

“Malakoff’s admission to the SC’s shariah-compliant list could be one of the factors behind the rise in the share price today. I noticed that the share price has been climbing since the SC’s announcement last Thursday,” TA Securities analyst James Ratnam told theedgemarkets.

Despite the underperformance of the company’s shares after the initial public offer (IPO), he said the fundamentals of the company are intact, as evident in the group’s financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

The company posted a net profit of RM120.98 million, a significant jump from RM15.39 million a year earlier, on the back of higher quarterly revenue of RM1.35 billion, compared to RM1.24 billion in the year before.

The research house said it continues to see value in the stock, with potential mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to provide upside to the stock.

TA Securities has a “buy” rating on Malakoff, with a target price of RM2.09.

Malakoff was succumbed to some selling when it was relisted on Bursa three weeks back. The stock dipped once dipped below its IPO price of RM1.80, to a low of RM1.70.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)