Investing in photonics, GSK and new opportunities in venture capital: Companies and Markets Show

This week’s show dives straight into safety and equipment maker Halma (HLMA), which reported its full-year results on Thursday morning. It may be time to re-evaluate the company’s description as one of the FTSE 100’s least newsworthy businesses – it has been reaping the rewards of the AI boom. But with increased interest comes heightened expectations, and perhaps this is why its shares tumbled by 15 per cent on the day of the results. Mark Robinson digs into the details on whether this ‘quality stock’ is more volatile than it once was.We then turn to big pharma giant GSK (GSK). The drugmaker made its largest deal in over a decade earlier this week with the acquisition of US cancer biotech Nuvalent. Julian Hofmann takes a look at the $11bn deal and what it means for the future of the pharmaceutical company.Finally we discuss venture capital trust Molten Ventures (GROW), whose investments in the likes of fintech Revolut and microsatellite operator ICEYE have helped boost its returns. Mark is back to explore its portfolio and looks at whether the trust is morphing into something different.Timestamps00:00 Introduction01:22 Halma14:47 GSK23:06 Molten Ventures32:25 OutroListen to more podcasts from Investors’ Chronicle on Apple, Spotify and YouTubeInvestors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities. Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.