Michael Page International (MPI), or PageGroup as it has recently re-styled itself, is a recruitment consultant. Despite a strong uptrend over many recent years, apart from a dip for the global economic crisis, the last year has been fairly mixed for investors, although filled with opportunities for spread betting.
You can see from the daily price chart that the stock price has varied between 350 and 400 in the past few months, reflecting diverse investor opinions. Some have said this may even be the reason that Michael Page International has chosen to rebrand itself as PageGroup, a decision reached in October 2012.
The FTSE 250 company started in 1976, based in London, and specialized in placing accountants into permanent positions. It soon expanded to have offices in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, and Bristol. In 1985 it opened an office in Australia, and in 1986 one in France.
The range of positions recruited also increased. Banking and financial services were included in 1985, and in 1986 the company took on legal recruitment. Further sectors were added including the public sector in 1992 and engineering in 2001.
The company was initially offered on the Unlisted Securities Market in 1983, and entered the London Stock Exchange in 1988. It had a spell of working under the Sperion Corporation, who bought it in 1997, but it demerged in 2001.
When spread trading on Michael Page International, you need to make sure that your trading strategy is suitable for the way the stock is currently performing. The share is presently trading at a relatively high earnings growth ratio. Yet, the jobs market isn’t going through a particularly great time and most employers still favour contractors as this provides them with a certain level of flexibility – but Michael Page is still focused primarily on the permanent jobs sector.
As mentioned, until this year the stock has been on a reasonable uptrend, yet there are a variety of short up and downtrends to be seen on the chart above, a different performance from previous years. You should always try to understand what the market is telling you about any particular stock, rather than assuming what you know on the basis of logic or other factors.
Michael Page International Rolling Daily: How to Spread Bet on Michael Page International Shares?
The shares in Michael Page International have been varying in value this year, but the current rolling daily price is 397.10 – 399.10. Let’s say you have decided that the price is going to go down in the next few days, you may choose to place a short or sell bet on this stock, staking £20 per point.
In this example, first assume that the price has dropped to 381.70 – 383.70, and you decide to close your bet and collect your winnings. Your bet opened at 397.10, the selling price, and you closed it when it reached 383.70. This means you gained 397.10-383.70 points, which is 13.40 points. With a stake of £20 per point, that amounts to £268.
If your bet is a loser, the calculation is similar and just as simple. Assume the price went up to 404.80 – 406.80 just after you placed your sell bet, and you decided to cut your losses, exit the trade, and move on. The opening price was 397.10, as before, and this time the spread bet closed at 406.80. That means you lost 406.80 less 397.10 points, or 9.70 points. Multiplying by £20, your total loss would be £194.
It can be a good idea to take out a stop loss order when you place your bet. This means that even if you do not have time to watch the market, your spread betting provider will close a losing trade for you when it reaches a price that you set. It helps to minimize your losses. With a stop loss order on this trade, your bookmaker may have closed your bet when the price was 401.72 – 403.72. The bet would close at 403.72. Taking away 397.10, your loss this time is 6.62 points. Your wager of £20 per point means that you have lost £132.40.
Michael Page International Futures Style Spread Bet
With a futures style bet, you do not have to worry about odd charges being made to your account for rolling over a bet. Your bet can stay open up until the expiration date with no charges. However, you can also close your bet at any time if you want to, to take profit, or if you need to, to prevent further loss. The current price for the far quarter futures style bet on Michael Page International is 398.56 – 403.37.
Perhaps you think that over the course of the next few weeks or months the share price will rise. You might be tempted to place a long bet, staking £12 per point. Following through on this idea, you could see the price rise until it reaches 421.66 – 426.47. Looking at your charts, you might decide that this is as far as you expect it to go and close the spread bet. The starting price for your long bet was 403.37. The closing price would be 421.66. That means you have made 18.29 points, which multiplied by £12 works out to a profit of £219.48.
If you are not so lucky, and the price goes down, you might find that you need to close the trade and accept your losses when the quote is 390.86 – 395.67. The starting price is the same at 403.37, but this time your closing price is 390.86, and the difference is 12.51 points. That means you have lost 12.51 times £12, which is a loss of £150.12.
With a stop loss order, you might possibly have saved some of the loss. Perhaps a stop loss order would have closed your bet for you when the quote was 393.94 – 398.75. Taking the closing price of 393.94 away from the opening price of 403.37, you would find that you have lost 9.43 points. With a wager of £12 per point, that would amount to £113.60.