Broker tips: Barclays, British Land, Carpetright
29th Jan 2013 11:02
Ahead of Barclays's full-year results due on February 12th, UBS has raised its target price for the stock from 315p to 325p and kept its 'neutral' rating. The broker expects Barclays to report a full-year profit before tax (PBT) of £6,909m for 2012, slightly above the consensus estimate of £6,856m.
Read moreBroker snap: Carpetright confounds critics, says Prime Markets
29th Jan 2013 10:41
Prime Markets has labelled carpet and flooring retailer Carpetright as a 'buy', saying that group's solid UK growth should confound any critics. "Once again, evergreen floor coverings giant Carpetright confounds the critics by revealing a 3.2% hike in UK sales. The results throw scorn at those who
Read moreLondon open: Markets helped higher by German sentiment
29th Jan 2013 08:20
Stock markets began Tuesday's session moderately higher with German sentiment data providing some support, as indices attempted to hold on to their recent gains after an impressive start to 2013. So far in January, the FTSE 100 has risen over 400 points, equal to a 6.9% jump. "European financial
Read moreCarpetright lifts UK sales
29th Jan 2013 07:34
Carpet and floor coverings retailer Carpetright said store refurbishments and an expansion to its laminate floor and bed ranges helped drive domestic sales in the third quarter. Like-for-like (LFL) sales in the UK increased by 3.2% and total sales in the UK increased by 1.6%. LFL sales in the Neth
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: AstraZeneca, Japan, Carpetright...
22nd Jan 2013 06:56
Health insurers and doctors in the United States are turning up their noses at AstraZeneca's much-vaunted new heart drug, according to a leading broker. Analysts at Société Générale forecast yesterday that sales of Brilinta would reach only 304 million dollars by 2015 ? barely a third of the market'
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Asos, Whitbread, Carpetright
12th Dec 2012 05:47
On Tuesday Nick Robertson, Asos's ebullient chief executive, revealed that UK growth was accelerating again after a wave of price cuts. The company reported a 24% increase in domestic sales, a rate of growth that compares with a 4% at its lowest point last year. That allayed concerns that it might b
Read moreCarpetright reports thumping losses
11th Dec 2012 07:40
Flooring retailer Carpetright said half year losses plunged deeper into the red as weak consumer confidence continues to plague business, particularly in the Netherlands. The group, which operates in the UK, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, said pre-tax losses widened to £7.9m in the 26 weeks
Read moreBears forced out of the woods by FSA
7th Nov 2012 13:47
The Financial Standards Authority is publishing a daily list of bearish bets by short sellers, which makes fascinating reading for investors. The list follows the introduction of European rules that came into force on November 1st. Under the regulations, all short positions worth more than 0.2% of
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Pearson, Bank of England, Tesco
7th Nov 2012 07:16
Pearson, the FTSE 100 media group, is planning to explore a sale of the financial daily newspaper within months, Bloomberg reported, so that the company can focus on its fast-growing education division. Dame Majorie Scardino, the chief executive of Pearson, once said famously that the FT would be so
Read moreBroker tips: Carpetright, Pearson, Ashtead
17th Oct 2012 12:27
Analysts at Panmure Gordon have today issued a biting note on Carpetright, with analyst Philip Dorgan indicating that: 'We are slightly surprised to see that UK second quarter like-for-like sales growth slowed from quarter one, given kitten soft comparables. However, gross margin guidance is retaine
Read moreBroker snap: Carpetright floored by Panmure note
17th Oct 2012 08:46
Carpetright fell as the market assessed yesterday's threadbare trading figures that management reported as 'meeting expectations', but which had Panmure Gordon issuing a 'sell' note and giving a price target of 400p. In a biting note, Philip Dorgan, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, wrote: "We are slig
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
16th Oct 2012 08:14
Amara Mining: Seymour Pierce keeps buy rating. ASOS: Morgan Stanley initiates coverage with overweight rating and 3,000p target. Bellway: Panmure Gordon raises target from 954p to 957p, hold rating kept; Jefferies keeps hold rating and 1,004p target. British American Tobacco: Nomura keeps buy rat
Read moreRegenersis CFO buys stake as firm unveils strong results
26th Sep 2012 15:56
Jog Dhody, the Chief Financial Officer of Regenersis, a consumer electronics repair specialist, bought a stake in the firm on Tuesday, opening his account on the same day it posted a 24 per cent rise in operating profits. Dhogy, who joined the board in March of this year, purchased 155,987 shares
Read moreBroker tips: UK banks, Carpetright, Dragon Oil
24th Jul 2012 10:49
Investec has reiterated its 'buy' ratings for all five major UK banks, saying that while the first-half results season will be 'unexciting', lenders are unlikely to provide a negative surprise. The broker labels Barclays (target price of 240p) as a "key value play" and its top pick in the sector. M
Read moreBroker snap: Carpetright is a 'sell', says Merchant Securities
24th Jul 2012 09:41
While Carpetright's first-quarter results were 'in line' with forecasts, Merchant Securities has reiterated its 'sell' recommendation for the stock, saying that it is 'fundamentally overvalued'. Total sales fell by 2.1% in the first three months of the year (ended July 21st), thought the closure of
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