Broker tips: Standard Life, ITV, Micro Focus

14th Aug 2012 12:35

Panmure Gordon has raised its recommendation for insurance giant Standard Life from 'hold' to 'buy' and hiked its target price for the stock from 240p to 295p, saying that the group was 'shooting the lights out' with its first-half results."These interim results are very strong and we believe will lead to an increase in consensus earnings for 2012/12. Despite the recent share price rally we believe that there is further to go," he said.Nomura decided to upgrade its rating for terrestrial broadcaster ITV last night from 'neutral' to 'buy', saying that the current share price does not reflect the group's future potential."ITV's recent 1H 12 results marked the halfway stage of management's five-year transformational plan to streamline the business and diversify away from advertising," the broker said.ITV is currently trading at just 8.3 times next year's earnings, a 10% discount to peers. UBS has upgraded its rating for business software firm Micro Focus International (MCRO) from 'neutral' to 'buy' and raised its target price from 570p to 600p, saying that the group's promise of high cash returns outweigh its modest growth prospects.UBS said that 2013 is a year of "getting fit". Growth guidance is "unexciting" (at best 1%) but the investment thesis is based around potential cash returns, the broker said.BC