KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd rose over 3% in early trade Wednesday following a technical buy call from PublicInvest Research.

       The water services company added 3.33%, or 1.5 sen to 46.5 sen at 9.42am. It has risen some 27% in the past one month.

       PublicInvest said Puncak is staging a potential breakout from its sideways channel, with anticipation of continuous improvement in both momentum and trend in the near term.

       “Should the immediate resistance level of 47.5 sen be broken with renewed buying interest, it may continue to lift price higher to the subsequent resistance level of 51.5 sen.

       “However, failure to hold on to support level of 43.5 sen may indicate weakness in the share price and hence, a cut-loss signal,” it said.

       In the first quarter ended March 31, Puncak posted a net profit of RM1.15mil against a net loss of RM4.21mil in the same period a year earlier.

       Its revenue in the first quarter stood at RM151mil, up 36.9% from RM110.33mil a year ago.