*Stock keeps investors away for fear of getting trapped
WorldStage– UPDC Plc, a member of the Main Board of the Nigerian Exchange Group, missed the February deadline it set to cure its free float deficiency by increasing the volume of its shares the public can trade.
The Exchange recent compliance report revealed the estate firm now got a two year extension.
In the meantime, the deficiency makes UPDC’s stock respond to buy or sell triggers in a manner that keeps investors away for fear of getting trapped in a position.
UPDC, a subsidiary of the UAC, joined the main board in 1998, and has struggled to set up 20 percent of its paid up shares for public trading, as the Exchange requires.
As of April, the company, with N78 billion capitalization, boasts of 18.6 billion fully paid up shares. A minimum of 20 percent of that, which is 1.9 billion—or its value of N20 billion—qualifies UPDC listing on the board.
However, the company has available for public trading 92.9 million shares, 4.89 percent of the minimum free float, which the NGX values at N4.2 billion.
That level of liquidity supported on the average 4.3 million trades daily in the first quarter of 2026. The share price now ranges between N4.20 and N4.90.
Apart from UPDC, seven listed companies have sought extensions and got the NGX approval to cure themselves of the deficiency.These include Sunu Assurances Nigeria Plc, Golden Breweries Plc, Eko Corp Plc, Prestige Assurance Plc, and three others.
