FTSE 100 movers: Broker upgrade lifts M&S

21st Sep 2009 15:12

High Street leviathan Marks & Spencer was one of the best performers today after Societe Generale raised its target price and earnings estimates for the stock. SocGen has raised its forecast for profit before tax in the current financial year to £654m from £596m, which the broker says puts its forecast 13% above the £577m market consensus. SocGen rates the shares a 'buy' and has lifted its price target from 445p to 500p.Royal Bank of Scotland is under pressure on reprots it is mulling a share issue of between £3-4bn to reduce its dependence on the UK government's toxic asset protection scheme (APS). Lloyds confirmed last week that it too wants to reduce its participation in the scheme, but its plans were a lot more grandiose than RBS's and aimed at completely freeing it of the government's grasp. In contrast, RBS's plans seem aimed merely at keeping the government's stake at around 70% after participation in the government's Asset Protection Scheme (APS).FTSE 100 - RisersInmarsat (ISAT) 552.00p +1.38%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 373.30p +1.30%TUI Travel (TT.) 268.00p +0.83%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,803.00p +0.83%Experian Group (EXPN) 516.00p +0.78%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 563.50p +0.71%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,208.50p +0.67%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 2,992.00p +0.47%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 52.75p -6.31%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,068.00p -4.98%Wolseley (WOS) 1,419.00p -4.57%Randgold Resources (RRS) 4,368.00p -4.46%Xstrata (XTA) 924.00p -4.25%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,931.00p -3.93%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 106.80p -3.50%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,646.00p -3.36%