Broker tips: Vodafone, Whitbread, ARM, De La Rue
23rd Oct 2013 12:15
Credit Suisse has hiked its target price for telecoms group Vodafone from 195p to 245p, saying that it sees a 50 per cent probability of a bid from US counterpart AT&T. However, one possible "red line" for the American company could be that a bid may put its own dividend cover at risk, the bank sug
Read moreLondon midday: Markets pull back from five-month high as banks fall
23rd Oct 2013 11:15
Concerns over the Chinese economy and a weak performance by banking stocks halted a nine-day winning streak for UK markets on Wednesday, as investors chose to take profits following a strong run. The FTSE 100 snapped a nine-day winning streak this morning, pulling back from Tuesday's finish of 6,69
Read moreBroker snap: Deutsche Bank cuts Whitbread to 'hold' after strong run
23rd Oct 2013 10:20
Deutsche Bank has lowered its stance for Costa and Premier Inn owner Whitbread from 'buy' to 'hold', recommendation investors to 'consolidate and take stock' after a strong run. "Whitbread has had a great year", the bank said, with upwards revisions to business milestones and the company demonstra
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
23rd Oct 2013 09:28
Abcam: Numis downgrades to add with a target price of 570p. ARM Holdings: Deutsche Bank increases target price from 1080p to 1130p and maintains a buy recommendation. JP Morgan raises target price from 625p to 750p and leaves its neutral rating unaltered. Societe Generale ups target price from 640p
Read moreLondon open: Stocks snap nine-day winning streak
23rd Oct 2013 08:14
Equities pulled back from a five-month high on Wednesday with ex-dividend names weighing on markets in London as traders took a breather following a recent strong run. The FTSE 100 snapped a nine-day winning streak this morning to trade around 0.5% lower than Tuesday's finish of 6,695.66, the index
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: ARM Holdings, GKN, Whitbread
23rd Oct 2013 07:06
On Tuesday ARM Holdings managed to again beat analysts' estimates for license revenue growth, which was a phenomenal 54 per cent. A record 48 licenses were signed, versus the typical between 25 to 30. However, pessimists argue that this partly reflects Asian groups moving into lower-end smartphones
Read moreLondon close: Stocks jump to five-month high after US jobs miss
22nd Oct 2013 16:35
Stocks across Europe rose strongly on Tuesday afternoon with London's FTSE 100 rising to a five-month high following a worse-than-expected US jobs report which spurred hopes of a near-term continuation of quantitative easing (QE) by the Federal Reserve. "The full impact of the government shutdown i
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Reckitt Benckiser rises on positive FY guidance
22nd Oct 2013 15:03
Household products group Reckitt Benckiser was a high riser after lifting its full-year revenue guidance slightly following a strong third quarter and a decent performance by recent acquisitions. The company said it now expects to grow net revenue excluding Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals (RBP)
Read moreLondon midday: Reckitt, BHP lead markets higher as investors await US jobs
22nd Oct 2013 12:00
Well-received corporate earnings from a number of heavyweight stocks gave markets a boost on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 holding on to a two-and-a-half-month high ahead of some key US data. Trading updates and results from blue chips Reckitt Benckiser, BHP Billiton, GKN and Whitbread all impressed th
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to open largely unchanged ahead of US data
22nd Oct 2013 07:44
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around two points lower than yesterday's close of 6,654.20, following a similar pattern in the US as investors tread water ahead of some key economic data out from the US. As a backlog of US data begins to unwind following the government shutdown, all ey
Read moreWhitbread grows H1 market share at Premier Inn and Costa
22nd Oct 2013 07:12
Whitbread's interim earnings rose ahead of expectations as its Premier Inns hotels and Costa coffee shops continued to grab market share. Despite strong competition in the hotel market, with increasingly strong performance from rivals Travelodge and Accor/Ibis, Premier Inn opened 12 new hotels and
Read moreTuesday preview: Whitbread, ARM, US jobs report
21st Oct 2013 15:44
Earnings from Whitbread and ARM Holdings will be in focus on Tuesday morning, though the all-important US non-farm payrolls will likely garner the most attention on the markets in afternoon trade. As a backlog of US data begins to unwind following the US government shutdown, all eyes will be on del
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, Whitbread, Kingfisher
21st Oct 2013 12:16
Nomura has maintained its 'reduce' rating for part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland, saying that talks over a split-up and large settlements highlight the risks the company faces ahead of its third-quarter results on November 1st. "Against this expectation of material losses from the bad
Read moreBroker snap: Consensus forecasts for Whitbread 'too optimistic', says Panmure
21st Oct 2013 10:46
Analysts at Panmure Gordon recommended investors 'sell' shares of Whitbread ahead of the company's interim results on Tuesday. The Costa and Premier Inn owner reported last month that like-for-like sales grew by 2.1% in the 11 weeks to August 15th. However, Panmure pointed out that the hotel divi
Read moreLondon close: Stocks jump to two-week high on hopes over US debt deal
11th Oct 2013 16:34
Hopes that US lawmakers can lift the debt ceiling and avert a default spurred markets higher on Friday with the FTSE 100 rising to levels not seen in two weeks. Sentiment was also lifted by the successful stock-market debut of postal group Royal Mail which soared by over a third after attracting a
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