STV share price on up and up

WHAT’S causing the STV share price to rocket?

Because something surely is, resulting in huge leaps these last couple of working days, so that, at the close of trading yesterday, they were being valued at 98p – up from 81.75p at the start of the day, an increase of almost 20 per cent.

And that was after a steep price rise on Friday.

Which isn’t bad considering they were priced just below 60p in July, remaining that way into the following month following lthe company’s interim financial results, which revealed a dramatic drop in half-year operating profit compared to 12 months’ previously.

Of course, the stock market is, in general, on a bit of rise. And the share prices of one or two other media companies are also on the up, presumably in the expectation that, as the end of the recession appears to be drawing nearer, so spending on advertising will begin to increase.

For instance, the share price for Scotsman publisher, Johnston Press, has risen from below 25p during the middle of last month to 43.25p yesterday, and Daily Record publisher, Trinity Mirror, has seen its share price rise from 60p at the start of July to £1.50 yesterday.

But… UTV’s share price dipped yesterday, by 1.25 per cent, to 98.75 per cent. And ITV’s share price has been steadily falling these last few days, yesterday finishing 52.6p, down 3.49 per cent on the opening price.

Is there a financial analyst in the house?