Viridien tops the SBF 120, driven by Sercel's Chinese order
The geosciences specialist leads the Paris session in a rising market. A seismic equipment order in China, announced this Thursday, supports the stock's case, while oil remains under pressure.
An order for 80,000 seismic nodes from Sinopec Geophysical for Sercel
Viridien rises 4.18% to €96.00 and takes the lead on the SBF 120, which gains 0.7% at midday. The stock benefits from a company announcement: Sinopec Geophysical Corporation has chosen to expand the Sercel equipment fleet it already operates, for large oil and gas exploration programmes in China.
The order for 80,000 seismic nodes, unveiled on November 12, was won by the Sensing & Monitoring division. It follows by one week the partnership with AMESA, which makes the group's high-performance computing infrastructure the foundation of an AI agent platform.
The third-quarter accounts, published on November 3, showed revenue from operations down 24% to $237 million, but net debt excluding IFRS 16 reduced by 18% over one year.
The stock moves back above its MM20 and targets its €100.20 resistance
The rebound brings the price 2.84% above its MM20 (€93.35), after a 6.14% gain over one month. It remains, however, 8.63% below its MM200 (€105.07), and the €100.20 resistance level is now only 4.4% away from the price.
Short sellers still weigh on the stock: according to the disclosures consulted, eleven funds together hold 10.89% of the capital, up 0.67 points over thirty days. This high level signals institutional investors positioned against the stock, although their motivations are not known.
On the analyst side, Bernstein raised its target price on November 10 from €142 to €151, i.e. 57% above the day's price, while maintaining its outperform rating. Brent, at $92 a barrel, has fallen 13.6% over nine sessions, a decline that does not prevent the stock from rising today.
