Broker tips: Tesco, Friends Life, Imagination Technologies

18th Dec 2014 11:34

Shore Capital has welcomed new measures by Tesco to "crank up the customer service" ahead of Christmas, suggesting that competition from the rival discounters may be waning.Looking ahead of the all-important shopping week before Christmas, analyst Clive Black said that while the Big Four will likely be the "laggards" of the food retailers, Tesco might not perform the worst. "Whilst the price and promotion proposition remain to be determined by [new boss] Dave Lewis, there may be much needed signs of stabilisation from the market leader," he said.Charles Stanley has lifted its stance on insurance firm Friends Life Group (FLG), saying it sees limited downside after recent falls in the stock."With FLG shares now trading at the level before bid talks with Aviva were confirmed on 21 November and once again yielding 6% on a stand-alone basis, we believe further downside may be limited and so upgrade our recommendation," said analyst Minal Shah.Numis Securities is recommending investors to sell shares of Imagination Technologies Group despite the chip group beating the market's forecasts with its first-half results, saying that its concerns about the business still remain.The broker lowered its rating from 'reduce' to 'sell', saying recent optimism surrounding a potential earnings recovery "is likely to fade again". It said that the stock trades at 54 and 28 times earnings for the years ending April 2015 and 2016, respectively, so "risk feels heavily weighted to the downside".