Broker tips: Tullow Oil, Misys, Copper miners

19th Mar 2012 12:28

Galvan Research and Trading has labelled Tullow Oil as a 'very strong buy' following last week's full-year results."Ongoing good news and fresh oil discoveries in Africa just keep rolling in at Tullow Oil, while the solid gold fundamentals are backed by a near 500% rise in profits last year. On this basis, the Galvan Research team view the shares as a very strong buy opportunity, and we tip the stock to head for 52-week highs in the coming weeks," said head of research Andrew Gibson.Gibson said he sees upside for the shares towards the late-2011 resistance line projection as high as 1,800p. Merchant Securities has reiterated its hold rating for Misys after Vista 'came up with the goods' and announced a 350p-a-share offer for the financial software provider this morning.The offer, recommended by Misys's board, is valued at 350p-a-share, equating to 22 times clean 2012 EV/NOPAT, according to Merchant Securities analyst Roger Phillips, which is an "amazing multiple given moribund organic performance over the last five years.""In case any shareholders were thinking about not accepting, the Misys Q3 IMS out today contains a very material profit warning. In part, this is down to deal-related delays in licence fee signatures, but it also suggests Misys would face a rocky future on a standalone basis as trading conditions worsen," Phillips said.Nomura has named First Quantum Minerals (FQM) as its top pick among the European copper miners but also highlighted Antofagasta as a core holding.FQM (buy) remains the broker's top pick given its organic growth profile and lowest capital costs. "We believe that the key catalyst over the next several months is the attainment of power tariffs with Zesco for Sentinel, where management indicates all parties are now fully engaged in negotiations, and it expects construction to start in Q2."Antofagasta is also given a buy rating and remains a core holding for its relatively high yield and long-term growth potential. Meanwhile, Kazakhmys is given a neutral rating as it remains a more 'high-risk, high-reward' stock. BC