UK MARKET TALK ROUNDUP: SHARES LOSING

17th Jun 2010 10:57

Stocks on the fall in the UK today. Compiled by Dow Jones Newswires Markets Desk, [email protected] Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9464 [email protected] 0957 GMT [Dow Jones] Goldman Sachs nudges down Northumbrian Water Group (NWG.LN) price target by just a tad, to 266p from 268p, largely reflecting an increase in mark-to-market value of its debt. Estimates that Northumbrian is trading at a 7% premium to March '11E regulatory asset base, the highest of the listed water companies. Says with absolute downside to the target price of 9%, keeps the stock at sell relative to the wider European utilities universe, where Goldman sees potential upside of more than 30%. Shares -0.3% at 307p. ([email protected]) 0946 GMT [Dow Jones] Goldman Sachs raises British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY.LN) price target to 750p from 700p as the company enters talks with News Corp (NWS). Says the new price target reflects the mid-point between News Corp's 700p offer and BSkyB's indication. Says a bid of 700p/800p would value BSkyB at around 10.5x/12.0x cycle-year '10E EV/Ebitda. Maintains neutral recommendation. BSkyB shares -0.5% at 697p. News Corp, which owns Dow Jones & Co, the publisher of this newswire, has a stake of about 39% in BSkyB. ([email protected]) 0840 GMT [Dow Jones] Numis Securities cuts its full-year Ebitda forecast on PartyGaming (PRTY.LN) to $145M from $151M due to continued pressure on the company's share of the poker market. However, analyst Douglas Jack believes PartyGaming will launch its poker network in France in July. Jack says the group is set to win market share, and adds sales from French poker, Scandinavian bingo and Italian cash games will help offset negative currency effects. Has a buy rating and 400p target price. Shares -0.7% at 271p. ([email protected]) 0835 GMT [Dow Jones] Seymour Pierce downgrades Game Group (GMG.LN) to hold from buy, following the company's trading update, which it describes as mixed. "Worryingly, the company must have come close to underperforming the games market in the UK, which was reported to have declined by 19% in the period, because, in particular, from competition from the food retail multiples," it says. However, encouragingly, the brokerage says the company has been quick to appoint a new Chief Executive, Ian Shepherd, who was previously Vodafone's (VOD.LN) UK consumer director. Shares -7% at 82p. ([email protected]) 0819 GMT [Dow Jones] KBC Peel Hunt downgrades WS Atkins (ATK.LN) to hold from buy. Says the company's prelims are 7% ahead of estimates, with a strong cash performance, but "with shares on 10.7x FY'11 and reaching our target we move to hold." Notes the outlook remains slightly cautious, but the management has clearly delivered in a tough market environment. Has 750p price target on the stock. Shares -1.8% at 713p. ([email protected]) 0816 GMT [Dow Jones] JPMorgan Cazenove downgrades Colt Group (COLT.LN) to underweight from overweight. Says this is to reflect concerns regarding cash flow momentum due to currency headwinds, in addition to the ongoing trend of voice decline offsetting managed services and data growth. Adds with 2010 net cash of EUR302M, Colt's share price should prove more stable. "Supportive of our strategist's view, we believe that there are more attractive investments in the sector, offering higher beta exposure," adds the brokerage. Has a 112p target price. Shares -1.1% at 134p. ([email protected]) 0807 GMT [Dow Jones] Nomura downgrades Petrofac (PFC.LN) to neutral from buy, but lifts its target price to 1300p from 1240p. "Although we remain positive on the long-term fundamentals, we believe the company's robust track record and growth prospects vis-a-vis its oil services peers are now close to being fairly reflected in its premium relative valuation," it says. Still, Nomura's new Petrofac earnings estimates for 2011 and 2012 are 11% and 20% above consensus respectively. "We see little scope for further relative outperformance versus the wider sector near-term," it adds. Shares -2.4% at 1256p. ([email protected]) Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9288 [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 17, 2010 05:57 ET (09:57 GMT)