Broker snap: Market overly cautious on SSE and Shanks, says Credit Suisse
18th Oct 2013 09:25
Credit Suisse has labelled SSE and Shanks as buying opportunities, saying that the market is overly cautious about these utility providers. Proposals by the Labour Party to freeze tariffs may have increased political risk perceptions in the industry, but this could be mitigated by reduced spend, Cr
Read morePrezzo founder and family slice off 3.9m shares
26th Sep 2013 15:53
Restaurant chain Prezzo, which has seen its share price double to around 120p in the past year, on Thursday announced that three of its directors, including its founder, had each sold a 1.3m share slice of the company. Jonathan Kaye, the group's Chief Executive Officer, only made a slight dent to
Read moreSector movers: Utility stocks hit by Labour plans to freeze energy bills
26th Sep 2013 14:50
Electricity and multi-utility stocks were falling sharply again on Thursday as investors continue to show concern over comments from Labour leader Ed Miliband who pledged to freeze energy bills if the party is voted back into power in 2015. Shares in British Gas owner Centrica were falling heavily
Read moreSector movers: Centrica drag utilities lower after shelving gas storage plans
23rd Sep 2013 15:04
Centrica was weighing on the utilities sector on Monday after the British Gas owner announced plans to shelve two gas storage projects. The group said it has decided not to proceed with its new-build gas storage project at Baird in the UK Southern North Sea and to put its project at Caythorpe in Ea
Read moreLondon close: Markets trim losses to finish flat
13th Sep 2013 16:34
The FTSE 100 trimmed losses on Friday afternoon but markets still finished broadly flat as traders scaled back risk appetite ahead of the weekend with the focus now turning to the Federal Reserve meeting next week. London's benchmark index closed down just 5.18 points at 6,583.80, pulling back slig
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Imagination Technologies gains on licence deal
13th Sep 2013 15:14
Imagination Technologies surged after signing a new licence agreement with MediaTek, a semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia. Bwin.party Digital Entertainment jumped following market chatter that Google may be interested in buying the online gaming company. Penn
Read moreBroker tips: AstraZeneca, Pennon, Wetherspoon
13th Sep 2013 12:57
Jefferies has slashed its price target for pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca (AZN) from 3,200p to 2,850p on the back of its concerns about the company's position in the respiratory market. The broker, which maintained its 'hold' rating for the stock, said that AZN's respiratory portfolio "does not
Read moreLondon midday: Markets turn lower ahead of Fed, Syria developments
13th Sep 2013 11:58
The FTSE 100 was trading slightly lower on Friday morning, pulling back from yesterday's close of 6,586.08 - its highest closing level since August 13th - as investors await the Federal Reserve policy meeting next week and continue to digest developments in Syria. The heavyweight mining sector was p
Read moreBroker snap: Pennon hit by Credit Suisse downgrade
13th Sep 2013 10:52
The share price of utilities group Pennon was dampened on Friday morning after a downgrade by Credit Suisse from 'neutral' to 'underperform', which raised concerns about the company's waste-management business, Viridor. The target price for the stock was trimmed from 670p to 610p. In a research re
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
13th Sep 2013 08:26
ASOS: Panmure Gordon raises target price from 4555p to 5950p maintaining a buy recommendation. AstraZeneca: Jefferies reduces target price from 3200p to 2850p and retains a hold recommendation. Barclays: Jefferies initiates with a target price of 367p and a buy recommendation. Barratt Development
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
28th Aug 2013 08:09
African Barrick Gold: Nomura takes target price from 155p to 250p and reiterates its buy recommendation. Antofagasta: Deutsche Bank cuts target price from 1050p to 1035p and retains a hold recommendation. JP Morgan reduces target price from 1005p to 975p, while its neutral rating remains unchanged.
Read morePennon trading in line
8th Aug 2013 08:50
UK water company Pennon said it has been trading in line with company expectations since the end of March. The water utility and waste management firm said South West Water is continuing its strong performance against the 2010-2015 regulatory contract. Viridor meanwhile has been trading in line wit
Read moreLondon close: Stocks fall for fourth straight day
7th Aug 2013 17:00
The FTSE 100 finished in the red for the fourth straight day on Wednesday as worries over a withdrawal of stimulus in the US and an underwhelming statement from the Bank of England (BoE) dampened sentiment. Comments from a number of Federal Reserve officials and the ongoing improvement in US econom
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Ferrexpo jumps after solid first-half numbers
7th Aug 2013 14:55
Iron pellet producer Ferrexpo was the high riser on the FTSE 250 on Wednesday with shares up over 10 per cent after a solid first-half report. Revenues were up 6.0% year-on-year at $775m as strong sales demand offset lower market pricing. Analyst Louise Collinge from Investec said that underlying e
Read moreLondon midday: Markets underwhelmed by Carney's dovish guidance
7th Aug 2013 11:38
The FTSE 100 had sunk sharply by Wednesday lunchtime as markets reacted negatively to the Bank of England's (BoE) new forward guidance and improved growth forecasts. All eyes were on new BoE Governor Mark Carney today as he unveiled the central bank's quarterly Inflation Report in which he was wide
Read more