KUALA LUMPUR (April 21): Unisem (M) Bhd warrants and shares jumped as much as 21% and 5% respectively, after a director indicated his intention to deal in the semiconductor manufacturer's securities during the closed period.

Investors could also be eyeing Unisem's (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 0.6) tax-free dividend of four sen a share for financial year ended Dec 31, 2014. Unisem announced last week the ex-dividend date is May 8 this year.

Today, Unisem warrants emerged as the most actively-traded entity across the bourse. The warrant surged to its highest so far today at 34 sen, before paring gains.
 
At 2:37pm, the warrants were traded at 33 sen, with some 58 million units changing hands.

Unisem shares had earlier risen as much as 12 sen to RM2.65. At 2:39pm, the stock changed hands at RM2.61, with some three million units traded.

Investors’ interest in Unisem had been piqued after the company announced yesterday (April 20) that executive director Francis Chia Mong Tet intended to deal in Unisem securities during the closed period.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, Unisem said Chia's shareholding in the firm came to 1.95%.

This comprises a 0.75% direct interest and an indirect 1.2% stake in the company.

(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.)