Freshly-listed Merino & Co tells the ASX its mysterious share price surge is due to ‘positive press exposure’

A knitwear brand based in Osborne Park has seen its market value rise more than fivefold, despite a lack of any company news since it joined the bourse just over a week ago. Merino & Co emerged on the Australian Securities Exchange last Wednesday after an initial public offering at 20¢ a share. Since then, its share price has risen exponentially — reaching $1.50 on Tuesday, right before being hit with a speeding ticket by the ASX and having to halt trade. Merino told the market operator there was no material information it was holding back and instead pinned the extraordinary surge on the media. “The company can only speculate that the increase in price is as a result of positive press exposure following its successful listing on ASX, which has raised its profile,” it said. Merino’s shares halved on Thursday after it answered the ASX’s “please explain” and emerged from the trading halt. But on Friday the stock rebounded, adding more than 80 per cent during morning trade. It finished the day at $1.05, an increase of 54 per cent from Thursday’s close. Merino’s share register is tightly held, with married founders Fiona Yue and Tim Kang holding more than 30 per cent of the company. Ms Yue, who is Merino’s managing director, held a cashmere manufacturing business in Mongolia and also currently works as a corporate “coach” with PGY Consultants. “Fiona, originally from Inner Mongolia grew up in a very primitive small village. Her mother is illiterate and her father left school after year 5 due to poverty,” her profile on PGY’s website reads. “By the age of 18 Fiona had never heard of an indoor toilet, had never brushed her teeth, rarely washed and was living a life most of us couldn’t even imagine. “Fast forward 20 years and Fiona now lives in the leafty (sic) Western suburbs of Perth.” Merino specialises in wool jumpers and scarves. The company now has a market capitalisation of $164 million. It generated revenue of $5.5 million for the 2024 financial year, down from $7.5m a year earlier. For FY2024 it made a net profit of $137,256.