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Any mid-cap stock that jumps in value over a short amount of time will always grab my attention. But there are two examples from the FTSE 250 that have really taken me by surprise lately.
Electrifying performance!
Shares in electricals retailer Currys (LSE: CURY) have been on an absolute tear over the last 12 months, rising 73%. In 2025 alone, they’re already up 34%. That’s hugely impressive considering the index as a whole is barely in positive territory. It goes down as yet another example of how stock-picking has the potential to be far more lucrative than owning a fund that simply tracks an index’s return.
Then again, Curry’s current purple patch isn’t all that surprising considering it recently raised its guidance on full-year adjusted pre-tax profit for the third time this year. Around £162m is now expected, up £2m on what it predicted one month ago.
Investors will also have cheered news that the company is now in a position to resume dividends. It hasn’t returned any cash since January 2023.
Should investors consider buying?
The significant rise that we’ve seen leads me to question whether the good news is all priced in.
On paper, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of a little less than 12 for the current financial year suggests the £1.4bn cap isn’t overvalued. Even among consumer cyclical stocks — many of which have been suffering during the cost-of-living crisis — the price tag doesn’t look extreme.
On the other hand, the recent bounce in inflation wasn’t encouraging. The firm had to contend with tax rises in April too. Tellingly, a couple of potential suitors also walked away last year when the share price was an awful lot lower!
However, I reckon the most convincing argument for bears is that this will likely remain a (very) low-margin business in a highly competitive space.
That’s why I’m inclined to think that the shares might begin to drift as targets become tougher to hit.
Rocketing share price
Another mid-cap that’s been in sparkling form is online greetings card and gifting platform Moonpig Group (LSE: MOON). Its stock is up 19% in 2025 and 55% in 12 months.
Go further back and anyone brave enough to invest when the shares hit their lowest ebb a couple of years ago will have doubled their cash!
As with Currys, the question is whether the ‘easy money’ has already been made. The P/E of 16 is higher than its index peer, but Moonpig generates better margins and returns on the money it invests. But is that sufficient?
Missing moat
April’s trading update stated that full-year revenue would be between £350m and £353m, helped by “strong growth” in gift attachment rates and more people signing up to its subscription scheme. This would represent a slight improvement on what it made in FY24 (£341m), albeit lower than analysts were expecting.
Nevertheless, I still can’t get excited by Moonpig. Like the electricals retailer, it operates in a crowded part of the market with no clear economic moat. Things look set to get even more challenging as similar businesses abandon their high street presence and move wholly online.
The recent introduction of dividends is positive but I’m not seeing big catalysts for further big price gains.
I’m not convinced either is worth considering at present.
