Broker snap: Smiths more of a long term pick

30th Jun 2010 11:03

Nomura Securities has an inkling that it might be revising upwards its earnings estimates for Smiths Group after an impressive two-day investors briefing last week by the technology firm."We not only found the presentations very informative in terms of a clear business strategy but we also left with an impression that the business heads of both Interconnect and Medical were very comfortable with the growth and margin targets set by the CEO [chief executive officer], Philip Bowman, in 2008," said Nomura analyst Rahul Garg.With that in mind, Garg said that "we believe that the risk to our FY11-13 [fiscal 2011-13] estimates and consensus lies on the upside rather than on the downside." The broker has a neutral stance on the stock over a 12-month horizon but remains "positively biased towards the stock from a long-term investment perspective.