Wednesday broker round-up UPDATE
20th Nov 2013 08:46
Afren: Liberum Capital raises target price from 197p to 232p and maintains a buy recommendation. AstraZeneca: Berenberg cuts target price from 3472p to 3430p reiterating a hold recommendation. AVEVA Group: Liberum Capital reduces target price from 2350p to 2250p and keeps its hold recommendation.
Read moreBroker tips: Housebuilders, M&S, BSkyB, Greggs
9th Oct 2013 11:52
As part of an upbeat review of the UK housing market, Goldman Sachs has added Taylor Wimpey to its 'conviction buy' list and upgraded its ratings for Bovis Homes and Barratt Developments from 'neutral' to 'buy'. "Partly stimulated by the Help To Buy shared equity scheme, lead indicators such as UK
Read moreLondon midday: Markets pause at three-month low as UK data disappoints
9th Oct 2013 11:19
Disappointing UK production figures and the ongoing political deadlock in the US weighed on market sentiment on Wednesday morning, with the FTSE 100 subdued after hitting a three-month low the day before. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was trading broadly flat by midday, erasing earlier losses,
Read moreBroker snap: No turning point in sight for Greggs, says Canaccord
9th Oct 2013 11:14
Canaccord Genuity has retained its 'sell' rating and 330p target price for bakery chain Greggs, saying that while the third quarter saw some improvement its underlying investment case remains unchanged. Greggs said that like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to September 28th fell by just 0.5%, much
Read moreLondon open: Stocks under pressure as debt ceiling looms
9th Oct 2013 08:22
Markets dropped sharply once again on Wednesday as investors' appetite for risk continues to be eroded by the ongoing government shutdown in the US. Not even the news that well-known dove Janet Yellen will be nominated as the next chair of the Federal Reserve lifted stocks this morning, with the FT
Read moreGreggs sales improve, investment to bite into profit - UPDATE
9th Oct 2013 07:09
UK bakery chain Greggs saw the rate of like-for-like (LFL) sales decline ease in the third quarter, while the opening of new shops boosted total sales growth. The company, which has nearly 1,700 retail outlets across the country, said that LFL sales were down 0.5% in the 13 weeks to September 28th
Read moreSector movers: Food retailers hit by falling profits at Tesco
2nd Oct 2013 14:33
The food retail sector was suffering on Wednesday afternoon after some heavy falls from supermarket giant Tesco, as the company reported a fall in profits for the first half. Smaller rival Sainsbury was also trading in the red, as investors seemed underwhelmed with an acceleration in sales growth i
Read moreSector movers: Morrisons, Ocado give retailers a boost
12th Sep 2013 15:14
A well-received set of first-half results from Morrisons gave a boost to the food retail sector on Thursday, helped by an update from joint-venture partner Ocado. Morrisons reported a 21.8% drop in pre-tax profit for the six months to August 4th from £440m to £344m on sales that were broadly flat a
Read moreLondon midday: Markets cautious ahead of risk events, Syria action
4th Sep 2013 11:26
Traders adopted a cautious approach on Wednesday morning with UK stocks registering losses in morning trade ahead of a number of 'risk events' later in the week which have the potential to spark market volatility. Fears about impending US military action in Syria also hit investor sentiment today a
Read moreLondon open: Potential strike on Syria worries investors early on
4th Sep 2013 08:32
Stocks declined on Wednesday morning on concerns over an imminent Western military intervention in Syria, with investors also choosing to scale back positions ahead of a number of 'risk events' later on in the week. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee last night gave the green light on a US atta
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
8th Aug 2013 07:10
Aquarius Platinum: Investec places its target price (prev.: 46p) under review, while keeping its hold recommendation. Avocet Mining: Canaccord Genuity upgrades from sell to hold with an unchanged target price of 112p. BBA Aviation: Citi raises target price from 292p to 335p reiterating a buy recom
Read moreLondon close: Markets choppy on tapering concerns
6th Aug 2013 17:02
It was a choppy session on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 struggling for direction early on before sinking firmly into the red as concerns of a 'tapering' of stimulus in the US dampened sentiment. The FTSE 100 finished down 15 points at 6,604, though closed well off its intraday low after a late rally.
Read moreLondon midday: Markets trim losses after UK data, StanChart
6th Aug 2013 11:23
Markets had recovered some lost ground by Tuesday lunchtime following some early falls, as data showed that the UK economic recovery continues to gather momentum and results from banking group Standard Chartered were well received. The FTSE 100 opened firmly in the red this morning, dampened by wea
Read moreBroker tips: Intertek, Unilever, Greggs
6th Aug 2013 10:51
RBC Capital Markets has upgraded its rating for Intertek from 'underperform' to 'sector perform', providing a boost to the quality control and testing group's stock on Tuesday morning. "We like the testing structural growth story, comps are now more benign and we see a pick-up in M&A as likely. Whi
Read moreBroker snap: Execution risk rises at Greggs, says Canaccord
6th Aug 2013 09:31
The share price of Greggs fell heavily on Tuesday morning after the bakery chain reported lower-than-forecast results, something which now raises the execution risk at the company, according to Canaccord Genuity. The broker maintained its 'sell' rating for the stock and cut its target price from 38
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