Broker tips: Standard Chartered, Carnival, Smith & Nephew, Weir

23rd Mar 2015 12:24

UK listed bank Standard Chartered has had its rating promoted to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan.The US bank said that although it is hesitant to change its view for the arrival of the new chief executive which has been a material positive, "we believe that last week's UK budget may lead the market to attach a higher probability of strategic actions to change domicile and unlock value".Carnival Corporation has had its rating cut to 'hold' from 'buy' over at Deutsche Bank.Deutsche Bank said while it expects the company's first-quarter trading update to demonstrate further bookings and pricing recovery coupled with more operational momentum in the core Carnival brand, "we think recent significant moves in euro and sterling currency could result in full-year 2015 EPS guidance being reduced around 8%".Smith & Nephew has been raised to 'buy' from 'neutral' at Goldman Sachs due to improving fundamentals and under-appreciated strategic value.Goldman also increased its target price on the stock, up to 1300p from 1200p.Shares in Weir Group were being weighed down on Monday by a ratings cut at RBC Capital Markets, which said that the risk-reward for new investors is now balanced.The broker lowered its stance on the engineering outfit from 'top pick' to 'sector perform' and slashed its target price from 2,150p to 1,850p.