Six-month cooling-off period comes to an end for Astrazeneca and Smith & Nephew bidders
23rd Nov 2014 14:28
This week will see the end of the six-month cooling-off periods that followed the takeover bids made for healthcare groups Astrazeneca and Smith & Nephew. This means that their respective suitors will once again have the opportunity to put in another offer. Stryker, the US orthopaedic group that e
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
12th Nov 2014 09:07
Aberdeen: UBS lowers target price from 465p to 450p and downgrades from buy to neutral. ASOS: Societe Generale reduces target price from 5000p to 4450p, while leaving its buy recommendation unchanged. BG Group: Deutsche Bank reduces target price from 1400p to 1300p and keeps a buy recommendation.
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
5th Nov 2014 10:02
Associated British Foods: Exane raises target price from 3600p to 3700p, keeping its outperform rating. Citi reduces target price from 3200p to 3100p, while upgrading to buy. AVEVA: Liberum Capital reduces target price from 1500p to 1400p and keeps a hold recommendation. Investec reduces target pric
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
31st Oct 2014 09:36
Afren: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 110p to 105p, leaving its hold recommendation unaltered. Aviva: Barclays ups target price from 397p to 420p and reiterates its equal-weight rating. Barclays: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 300p to 295p and leaves its buy recommendation. Country
Read moreLondon close: FTSE ends session with modest gains
30th Oct 2014 16:36
The top tier closed slightly higher on Thursday, as a strong performance by Smith & Nephew was offset by losses amongst the mining sector. The FTSE 100 ended the day 9.68 points higher than on the previous day at 6,463.55. Investors were paying attention to what analysts called an "artificially hig
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Smith and Nephew rises after first quarter results
30th Oct 2014 16:14
Medical devices maker Smith & Nephew rose strongly after it posted a 3% increase in both revenue and profit for the third quarter, thanks to an improvement in its emerging and international markets units, recent product launches and investment in the sales force. On an underlying basis, turnover cli
Read moreThird quarter turnover and profit both rise 3% at Smith and Nephew
30th Oct 2014 12:03
Medical devices maker Smith & Nephew posted a 3% increase in both revenue and profit for the third quarter, thanks to an improvement in its emerging and international markets units, recent product launches and investment in the sales force. On an underlying basis, turnover climbed from $1,027m to $1
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tesco leads downside after profits slide
23rd Oct 2014 14:46
Tesco led the downside after its first-half trading profits fell 39.4% at constant exchange rates to £937m. Tesco's chairman Sir Richard Broadbent announced his own succession process had begun, as the company's UK like-for-like sales fell 4.6%. Although its pension deficit surged from £2.6bn to £3.
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Glencore
14th Oct 2014 06:58
Anyone wishing to peer into the future might be advised to observe the goings-on in north-western Australia. They will find 3-km long robo-trains careening through the landscape. It is precisely these futuristic machines which have allowed BHP to drastically reduce the cost of bringing new supplies
Read moreLondon close: Mining stocks help lift FTSE to positive finish
13th Oct 2014 17:00
Coming off the morning's declines, London-listed stocks ended Monday's session on a relatively upbeat note, thanks to a strong performance by the mining sector on what was a generally quiet day for markets. The FTSE 100 finished near its best levels of the session, closing 26.27 points higher at 6,3
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners lead on the upside as travel stocks continue lower
13th Oct 2014 15:53
Mining stocks gained strongly thanks to broker upgrades and positive economic data out from China which showed that both exports and imports jumped in September, by 15.3% and 7% year-on-year respectively. Over the last few months the sector has registered sharp declines due to mounting concerns abou
Read moreBroker tips: Randgold, AB Foods, Smith & Nephew, Mining stocks
13th Oct 2014 12:57
Randgold Resources' share price was given a lift on Monday by analysts at UBS who upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy' after a recent slump in the value of the gold miner. The bank said that it still prefers precious metals peer Fresnillo over Randgold, but reckons that the risk/reward balance
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks erase losses on mining strength, Synergy soars
13th Oct 2014 11:35
After a weak start, UK stocks had erased losses by Monday lunchtime, helped by decent gains in the heavyweight mining sector and a takeover offer for Synergy Health. London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.3% higher at 6,358 by around midday, bouncing off a low of 6,302 reached in early deals. UK equities
Read moreInvestec downgrades Smith & Nephew after study results disappoint
13th Oct 2014 09:36
Investec has cut its rating for medical technology group Smith & Nephew from 'add' to 'hold' after the company's disappointing results from a ulcer therapy study on Monday. The company said that the phase-3 study for HP802-247 in North America didn't meet its primary end-point, showing no statistica
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
13th Oct 2014 09:32
Amino Technologies: Northland Capital upgrades to buy with a target price of 100p. Anglo American: Canaccord Genuity initiates with a target price of 1720p and a buy recommendation. Credit Suisse upgrades to outperform with a target price of 1800p. Associated British Foods: Societe Generale upgrade
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