Sunday share tips: Auto Trader, VP

14th Jun 2015 23:34

A year-and-a-half ago Guardian Media Group let go of its 51% stake in Auto Trader for £600m in cash. When private equity outfit Apax took the company public three months ago, those same shares went for twice that amount. They have continued to gain in value since then, with the company´s market capitalisation standing at £2.9bn at last count.Admittedly, an internet company´s fortunes can change quickly, just ask Yahoo. However, the outfit led by Trevor Mather has developed some interesting propietary technology. Its i-Control suite allows retailers to increase sales by analysing billions of search results. If valued like rivals Rightmove and Moneysupermarket then the stock might trade up to 364p, writes the Sunday Times´s Danny Fortson.Shares in equipment rental group VP have come a long way since Midas last looked at them back in 2012. They have risen by approximately 150% since then. That stellar performance is the result of the continuing recovery in the company´s end markets, including for rail and civil engineering and construction.Despite the company´s record-breaking results to the end of March investors may want to bank some profits by sellng 30% of their stock. However, chairman Jeremy Pilkington has delivered so far and is extremely positive about the future, so investors should hold on to the rest, Midas says.