UK MARKET TALK ROUNDUP: SHARES LOSING

23rd Jul 2010 15:39

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] 1439 GMT [Dow Jones] S&P Equity Research cuts Smith & Nephew (SN.LN) price target to 530p from 600p ahead of the company's 2Q results. Says S&N's sanguine outlook for '10 will be increasingly challenged, following slowing orthopedic sales in its US counterparts in 2Q'10. Says continuing pricing pressure could become even harsher, given the austerity measures in the EU and the healthcare reform implementation in the US. Maintains sell recommendation on the stock. Shares -2% at 559p. ([email protected]) 1433 GMT [Dow Jones] Investec Securities cuts Autonomy (AU.LN) price target to 1750p from 1800p following the company's 1H update. Says it came up short on growth, margins and near-term forecast momentum. Says while the business is having significant success in its end markets, the current valuation demands financial outperformance. "This has not happened and with a seasonally weak 3Q, the outlook is very 4Q-weighted." Keeps the stock at hold. Shares -1.3% at 1627p. ([email protected]) 1025 GMT [Dow Jones] JPMorgan Cazenove raises Standard Chartered (STAN.LN) price target to 1920p from 1775p ahead of the 1H '10 results on August 4. Lifts '10 EPS forecast to $1.89 from $1.72 and '11 to $2.30 from $2.17. Thinks Standard Chartered should continue to trade at a premium and so maintains overweight recommendation. Furthermore, thinks it is one of the banks least impacted by regulatory changes in the Morgan Stanley universe. Shares -2.3% at 1800p. ([email protected]) 0957 GMT [Dow Jones] Goldman Sachs cuts Autonomy (AU.LN) price target to $1.08 from $1.17 following the company's 2Q update. Says the results were "disappointing, owing to some deal slippage in discretionary spend at quarter end." Still, says underlying operation metrics were solid and reckons the structural story remains intact. Continues to believe Autonomy can deliver 19% organic revenue growth over the next 3 years, well above the brokerage's coverage. Also thinks it remains the premier strategic asset in the sector. Reiterates conviction buy. Shares -1.2% at 1628p. ([email protected]) 0925 GMT [Dow Jones] UBS lowers Capita Group (CPI.LN) price target to 700p from 750p following weaker revenue in the 1H '10 results. Says transactional parts of public sector business could suffer from further pressure in the short-term. Says, "the company has little certainty on contract wins and potential public sector pricing pressure." However, is surprised by the size of the margin increase in the results, up 90bps versus UBS's estimates of an increase of 70bps. Keeps at sell. Shares are -0.8% at 731p. ([email protected]) 0917 GMT [Dow Jones] KBC Peel Hunt upgrades Autonomy (AU.LN) to hold from sell on the basis that much of the bad news for the company is now in the price. KBC adds that it anticipates an earnings-enhancing deal shortly. Still, "the 2Q results appear to confirm our concerns around true organic growth rates and the performance looks even more disappointing given the contribution of two large banking deals in the quarter and a boost from the sale of hardware." Has 1500p price target on the stock. Shares -1.2% at 1630p. ([email protected]) 0910 GMT [Dow Jones] UBS raises BT Group (BT.A.LN) target to 120p from 100p, due to stronger '11 cost savings. As a result, '11 EPS forecast rises to 17.01p from 13.72p and '12 to 17.39p from 11.59p. However, thinks strategic pressures remain, namely with regards to gross margin, capital expenditure on fibre and pensions. Keeps sell recommendation. Shares -1.5% at 138.9p. ([email protected]) 0902 GMT [Dow Jones] UBS downgrades Dimension Data (DDT.LN) to neutral from buy and lifts the price target to 124p from 110p. This is after the company receives an offer by Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT). Says Dimension Data will benefit from greater resources and be able to bring services to market faster. Says while the offer is at a fair price, it is not a rich premium. No other parties have been involved in discussions, but thinks there could be interest elsewhere. Suggests a telco would be a natural acquirer. Shares are -0.2% at 124p. ([email protected]) 0851 GMT [Dow Jones] Although Petropavlovsk PLC (POG.LN) says that it is still likely to meet the lower range of its 2010 production target, UniCredit says it believes this will prove challenging. The company should see a significant rise of cash costs in 2Q due to the fact that it had to process ore of a much lower grade because of equipment delays, the bank says. Has hold recommendation with target price of $22.50. Shares -0.3% at 1103p. ([email protected]) Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9464 [email protected] 0814 GMT [Dow Jones] Credit Suisse cuts Autonomy (AU.LN) price target to 2000p from 2200p. Says 2Q '10 earnings are disappointing with total revenue and EPS below consensus and the brokerage's expectations. However, reiterates outperform recommendation. Thinks the sell-off on the news is overdone. Says the new target price still represents 21% upside to current levels and advises investors to buy on the current weakness. Shares are -0.6% at 1639p. ([email protected]) 0707 GMT [Dow Jones] Britvic (BVIC.LN) update is as expected, says Altium. U.K. has now seen the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, it says, though Britvic underperformed in the stills market, due to a lack of presence in the smoothie market, plain water and juice. Says Ireland is likely to remain challenging for rest of the year. "The share price performance has been spectacular, but with no catalyst contained within today's statement we do not see consensus numbers moving," it says. "Indeed, it could be a good opportunity to lock in some profits." Rates hold with 550p target. Shares -1% at 513p. ([email protected]) Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9288 [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 23, 2010 10:39 ET (14:39 GMT)