FTSE 100 movers: Admiral gains on Berenberg note; miners fall

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,633.35 in afternoon trade on Monday.

Admiral was the standout gainer as Berenberg lifted its price target on the shares to 2,973p from 2,961p.

"While the share price reaction to Admiral’s FY23 results was muted on Thursday - down by circa 2% - there were plenty of reasons to be very optimistic about the outlook and we are raising estimates strongly in 2024 and 2025, up by 38% and 27% respectively," the bank said.

"We believe the hesitancy of investors to keep buying Admiral is driven by a nervousness that UK motor insurance prices will fall. While this is a risk, in our view, investors did not fully appreciate how far ahead in pricing Admiral is versus the rest of the market.

"Admiral beat by 19% on motor premiums in H2 and it was all driven by pricing. Admiral raised prices by 37% in FY23, well ahead of the market average 25%, and this gives Admiral scope to cut prices a little, while maintaining excellent margins and growing market share."

Imperial Brands rallied as it launched the second £550m tranche of its share buyback.

Marks & Spencer was also in the black after an upgrade to ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’ at RBC Capital Markets.

"The M&S share price has come in 17% from recent highs, due to investor repositioning and concerns over the UK consumer and costs outlook," the bank said. "But there has been no great change in its strong fundamentals in our view. At 10x CY24E P/E, the shares appear to be pricing no growth, but we think M&S can deliver this with a progressive cash returns policy, thus broadening its appeal to long term investors."

Miners Rio Tinto and Glencore both lost ground as metals prices fell.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Admiral Group (ADM) 2,656.00p 3.23%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,735.00p 2.51%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 248.30p 2.27%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 458.10p 2.16%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,802.00p 1.84%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,348.00p 1.49%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,269.00p 1.33%
Barclays (BARC) 174.02p 1.03%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,874.50p 1.02%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 49.02p 0.95%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

St James's Place (STJ) 454.50p -3.38%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,750.00p -2.45%
Entain (ENT) 729.00p -2.41%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,278.00p -2.30%
Sage Group (SGE) 1,218.50p -2.21%
Experian (EXPN) 3,333.00p -2.03%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 280.40p -1.96%
Centrica (CNA) 130.25p -1.88%
Glencore (GLEN) 393.30p -1.86%
RS Group (RS1) 717.80p -1.83%