Broker snap: Marginal earnings growth expected at Sage
8th May 2012 11:29
Merchant Securities has maintained its hold rating and 300p target price for business software firm Sage Group ahead of its interim results tomorrow. For the six months to March 31st 2012, the broker is forecasting revenue to fall from £723m (underlying organic) to £678m year-on-year and adjusted e
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
8th May 2012 08:35
Balfour Beatty: Investec keeps sell rating and gives new target of 210p. BP: Barclays downgrades from neutral to underweight. Ladbrokes: Nomura maintains neutral stance and 150p target. Morgan Crucible: Jefferies reiterates buy recommendation and 365p target. Rentokil Initial: Jefferies upgrades
Read moreLondon close: Footsie drops to intraday low on weak macro data
13th Apr 2012 16:36
- Macro data scares away bulls - Financials drag blue-chip index lower - Footsie down 1.3 per cent on the week The Footsie finished Friday's session close to its worst levels of the day as investors fretted about the global economic outlook; data from China and the US came in worse-than-expected a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners lead the way higher
13th Apr 2012 14:08
The miners were the best performers of the day, with Evraz, Polymetal, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Glencore making decent gains. Chinese GDP data came in below expectations, which sent rumours flying around that the 'weak' (by Chinese standards) growth may prompt the central bank to
Read moreBroker tips: Burberry, Sage, Sainsbury
13th Apr 2012 11:26
UBS has raised its target price for luxury brand Burberry from 1,370p to 1,580p ahead of its fourth quarter sales update next week. The broker is expecting the company to report a 16.5% growth in sales (constant currency), significantly lower than the 23.7% growth seen in the first nine months of t
Read moreBroker snap: Jefferies downgrades Sage, reduces growth forecasts
13th Apr 2012 10:38
Jefferies has this morning downgraded its rating for business software group Sage from buy to hold, saying it is turning a 'bit more cautious' despite continuing to favour the positioning and management of the company. Sage's core business remains exceptionally stable, the broker acknowledges, unde
Read moreFriday broker round-up
13th Apr 2012 10:09
Aggreko: UBS ups target from 2,500p to 2,550p, buy rating unchanged. AstraZeneca: Jefferies maintains hold with a 3,050p target. Burberry UBS lifts target from 1,370p to 1,580p, neutral recommendation maintained. Chariot Oil & Gas: Merchant Securities initiates coverage with a buy rating and 402.
Read moreLondon open: Cautious start after Chinese GDP data
13th Apr 2012 08:37
- Chinese GDP disappoints - Miners shrug off data - Sage downgraded by Jefferies London's blue chip index started flat in early trading on Friday as some worse-than-expected economic data from China weighed on sentiment. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in China slowed to an annual rate of 8.1%
Read moreThursday broker round-up - UPDATE
5th Apr 2012 08:00
Antofagasta: AlphaValue upgrades from reduce to add, target cut from 1,233.6p to 1,211.5p. Aveva: Merchant Securities raises target from 1,785p to 1,800p, buy rating kept. Ashmore: UBS upgrades from neutral to buy, target lifted from 400p to 420p. Barclays: AlphaValue upgrades from reduced to add
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
20th Mar 2012 10:04
Aggreko: Credit Suisse raises target from 2,140p to 2,350p, neutral rating kept. ARM Holdings: BarCap upgrades from equal weight to overweight, target lifted from 700p to 725p; Investec upgrades from hold to buy, target lifted from 640p to 800p. Centrica: Nomura raises target from 340p to 350p, n
Read moreMisys could be first of many software house bids, broker says
19th Mar 2012 07:03
Financial software developer Misys has announced that it has reached agreement on the terms of a recommended 350p-per-share cash offer by Magic Bidco Limited, an investment vehicle indirectly owned by Vista Funds. This follows last week's news that the discussions with Temenos Group, long though of
Read moreGenus Finance Director sells 43,000 shares
14th Mar 2012 15:32
John Worby, Group Finance Director of Genus, the FTSE 250 animal genetics firm, has sold 43,000 shares, half of the amount he vested earlier this month. Worby sold 43,261 shares at 1,318.41p each for a total of £570,357. The sale was made further to the vesting of 86,523 conditional nil-cost share
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
13th Mar 2012 09:59
AstraZeneca: Panmure Gordon keeps buy rating and 3,600p target. Bellway: Credit Suisse maintains outperform rating. BG Group: Nomura raises target from 1,865p to 1,950p, buy rating kept. Computacenter: Panmure Gordon ups target from 490p to 501p, buy rating unchanged. Hays: Credit Suisse ups tar
Read moreThursday broker round-up - UPDATE
9th Feb 2012 09:16
Homeserve: Credit Suisse raises target price to 275p from 250p, stays at neutral. Reckitt Benckiser: Credit Suisse reiterates outperform. BHP Billiton: Credit Suisse retains outperform. Tate & Lyle: Panmure Gordon raises target from 645p to 690p, hold rating kept; JP Morgan reiterates underweigh
Read moreSage snaps up payment processing provider
7th Feb 2012 13:17
Business software group Sage has announced that through its subsidiary Sage Pay Europe it has acquired Integral Computers, a cardholder present payment processing provider based in Ireland for a cash consideration of up to €20m (£16.7m). Integral provides services to retailers that have either stan
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