Cavendish sees IXICO forecasts as conservative after order book hits five-year high

Proactive

Tue, May 19, 2026 at 5:48 AM EDT 2 min read

Shares in IXICO PLC (LSE:IXI, OTC:PHYOF, FRA:PYPB), the neuroscience imaging and biomarker analytics specialist, rose as much as 11% after interim results showed the company's order book at its highest level since 2021, prompting its house broker to describe full-year estimates as conservative.

The company reported revenue up 23% to £3.9 million in the six months to 31 March, with gross margin improving to 53.2% from 49.6% as a higher proportion of analysis-related work, which carries stronger margins, came through the mix.

The order book closed the period at £18.1 million, up 38% year on year, driven by approximately £8.4 million of net new contract wins, the highest six-month total since the second half of 2022.

Cavendish, which rates the stock a buy with a 26p target price against a current price of 6.8p, noted the order book now underpins 95% of its full-year revenue forecast of £7.5 million with four months of the financial year still to run.

The broker left its forecasts unchanged but said it believed second-half estimates were conservative, with management guiding for revenue to be "at least in line" with expectations.

The EBITDA loss narrowed to £0.5 million from £0.7 million, with the improvement in gross profit partially offset by increased investment in the company's growth strategy targeting larger Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease markets.

Cash stood at £1.7 million at the half-year, before a £10 million gross raise completed in April to fund the company's new TechBio strategy, which aims to license the IXI platform to third-party clinical trial and healthcare providers to generate recurring revenue.

The first partnership under that strategy was signed with Medidata, a Dassault Systèmes subsidiary whose platform is used in 80% of FDA novel drug approvals.

Cavendish said IXICO had built the foundation for sustained growth from both its established imaging contract research operations and the emerging TechBio business, which it expects to deliver high-value, high-margin recurring revenues.

After the early burst, the stock settled back to 7.08p, up 5%.