FTSE 250 movers: Hedge-fund manager Man Group hit by broker downgrade

5th Jun 2013 14:56

Man Group was the biggest mover on the second-tier index on Wednesday, with its share price plummeting after UBS downgraded the stock to 'neutral' citing a 'degradation in the investment case'. The broker said that Man remains highly dependent on its AHL fund, while raising concerns about Japanese risk appetite following the recent bout of market volatility.European plastic packaging group RPC was topping the risers list after announcing a better-than-expected full-year dividend and meeting profit forecasts in the year to March 31st. Panmure Gordon provided a further lift today after upgrading the stock from 'hold' to 'buy'.Synergy Health followed closely behind after an expansion into the US offset a challenging economic environment in Europe, helping the healthcare services group to post a 15.8% rise in annual revenue. DS Smith, the paper and plastic packaging group, was under the weather this morning after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to 'neutral', saying that the share price has "limited upside" following a strong period of outperformance.Also among the fallers early on were Daily Mail & General Trust, Debenhams, Grainger and Bank of Georgia after going ex-dividend.FTSE 250 - RisersRPC Group (RPC) 417.00p +4.35%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 103.70p +2.67%Synergy Health (SYR) 1,097.00p +2.43%FirstGroup (FGP) 122.50p +1.74%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 125.50p +1.73%PayPoint (PAY) 981.50p +1.19%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 12.13 +1.17%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 38.63p +0.89%Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 214.50p +0.52%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 467.00p +0.47%FTSE 250 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 99.35p -14.72%Henderson Group (HGG) 158.90p -5.19%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 626.00p -4.86%Keller Group (KLR) 889.00p -4.20%Supergroup (SGP) 710.00p -3.92%CSR (CSR) 517.00p -3.81%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 219.60p -3.73%Afren (AFR) 128.80p -3.66%Mondi (MNDI) 828.00p -3.66%Laird (LRD) 199.30p -3.58%