Sunday share tips: Mirriad, Avingtrans

The Sunday Times's Sabah Meddings told readers to buy shares of Mirriad, arguing that trends in advertising were going the company's way.

Mirriad specialises in the insertion of advertising directly into the content of films and TV shows using artificial intelligence, as opposed to focusing on ads designed for the traditional ad break.

That allows it to target 94% of a video and not just the 6% available during ad breaks.

It also helps avoid people fast-forwarding past avdertising when doing catch-up watching.

Meddings conceded the shares had been volatile following successive fund raisings and placings.

But for her the opportunity was still alluring given that the TV ad market was worth $145bn a year and the trends in the advertising space.

If Mirriad captured 0.5% of that pie, that would be worth annual sales of $180m, she pointed out.

"Despite advertising spend being under pressure from Covid, the trends play into Mirriad’s favour. [...] Buy."

The Financial Mail on Sunday's Midas column recommended readers buy shares of turnaround specialist Avingtrans.

To back up its recommendation, the tipster pointed to the company's more than a decade-long track record of delivering robust returns and dividend growth.

Among the company's recent successes were the acquisition of Booth Industries and AIM-listed Hayward Tyler, both of which were picked up on the cheap and were now profitable with the latter in rude health.

Midas also called attention to the company's capable management, in the form of its boss, Steve McQuillan, who had been running the outfit since 2008 and its finance chief, Stephen King, who had been serving in his role since 2002.

Some of the company's other attractions included its geographical diversification and the fact that its contracts were often inflation-linked.

Furthermore, not only was the dividend payout expected to increase over the next year, special dividends were a possibility as well as businesses were sold, Midas said.

"Avingtrans is a well-run business with a track record of success. At £4, the shares are a buy."