This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 29, 2016.

MAA Group Bhd (-ve)

SHARES in MAA Group Bhd (fundamental: 0/3, valuation: 2.55/3) jumped 6.86% to RM1.09 before closing at RM1.05, its four-year-high closing price. The volume for the day was relatively high at 2.77 million compared to its 200-day average of 365,046.

MAA Group’s share price has been on the upside since last year, with year-to-date return of 12.3%. However, MAA Group has been highlighted as “red flag” stocks with momentum by our proprietary algorithm based on fundamentals.

On Wednesday, the ministry of finance, with a letter from Bank Negara Malaysia, approved the proposed disposal of its 100% equity interest held in MAA Takaful Bhd to Zurich Insurance. MAA Takaful is a joint venture launched in 2006 by MAA Group and Bahrain’s Solidarity.

The group is currently trading at a trailing price-earnings ratio of 12.86 times and 0.73 times its book value. It is currently classified as a Practice Note 17 company.