Broker tips: StanChart, Serco, AstraZeneca

8th Aug 2012 12:46

Credit Suisse has retained its cautious stance on under-fire lender Standard Chartered on the back of its struggles with US regulators in regards to its alleged dealings with the Iranian government.StanChart trades at 1.3 times full-year tangible net asset value for a 14-15% return on tangible equity despite the recent sell-off. "We remain 'neutral' though the shares could drift lower from here until we get more clarity," the broker said."The shares are back around the levels where they traded in June, but at the time we had not anticipated this additional risk factor and so would not chase the stock."UBS has downgraded its rating for Serco from 'buy' to 'neutral' following a strong run in the shares of the international outsourcing group.The broker said that it remains upbeat about the UK/Europe and Global Services businesses but uncertainty in the US is likely to remain in the short term."We believe contracts already won give a good degree of visibility into this improvement, especially outside the US. Yet this inflection point remains some six-12 months behind UK outsourcing peers like Capita, Babcock and MITIE."Jefferies has raised its target price for AstraZeneca from 2,975p to 3,100p, but has retained its 'hold' recommendation on the shares following 'another disappointing quarter'.According to the broker, AstraZeneca will likely continue to trade in a 'bond-like' fashion as investors await the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive Officer. "Even then we believe that it will take a surprise from the R&D pipeline or incremental bolt-on acquisitions to change market perceptions of the company."BC