Broker tips: Easyjet, Antofagasta, Whitbread

26th Mar 2015 12:27

Shares in Easyjet and a number of other travel stocks took a hammering on Thursday from the spike in oil prices, though the budget airline did manage to impress analysts with its latest trading update.Credit Suisse maintained an 'outperform' rating and 2,050p target price for Easyjet after first-half numbers beat expectations due to favourable currency movements. It remained upbeat about Easyjet's pricing growth and said the outlook is "conservative but comforting".Chilean-focused miner Antofagasta had its rating chopped to 'sell' from 'hold' by Investec Securities which cited the company's stock as "fundamentally overvalued."Investec said that the latest disruptions at Los Pelambres and ongoing issues with power and water and rising taxes are starting to undermine the attraction of Chile, long viewed as one of the most attractive jurisdictions for miners.Costa coffee and Premier Inn owner Whitbread was out of favour among investors, with Panmure Gordon downgrading its rating on the stock from 'hold' to 'sell'.Panmure said that rising debt levels and falling returns at the leisure company now mean that the shares are "no longer a safe haven".