FTSE 250 movers: Evraz, Amec rise while Cineworld sinks

The FTSE 250 was up slightly during afternoon trading on Friday, with Evraz leading the risers and Cineworld the biggest loser.

Cineworld was down after analysts at UBS reiterated its shares as 'sell'. According to UBS's price target of 490p on the cinema operator's stock, the broker was looking at a decrease of 3.04% from Cineworld Group's current price levels. "We are cautious on both the remaining roll-out potential and the structural growth opportunity in Cineworld," said UBS analyst Heidi Richardson.

The same broker sent William Hill into the red after it downgraded the stock to 'sell' from 'buy', and slashed the price target to 365p from 410p, as it pointed to an increasingly competitive market. UBS said it believed that, with consolidation in the industry and with a revamped Ladbrokes investing heavily in marketing, the industry backdrop would become increasingly competitive going forward.

Aerospace and defence group Cobham was in the red after JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded the stock to 'neutral' from 'overweight' and cut its price target to 255p from 305p following the company's full-year results on Thursday. The investment bank also noted Cobham's 2015 earnings per share were around 4% below the bank's and Bloomberg's estimates.

In the risers, Evraz was up after it announced the closure of its seamless pipe unit in Pueblo, Colorado, at the cost of 70 jobs. The firm was continuing to shutter uneconomic operations in a bid to shore up costs amid a depressed commodities environment - the firm announced the closure of another pipe production plant in Portland, Oregon a month earlier.

Amec Foster Wheeler shares also surged after the oilfield services firm said it had secured a seven-year contract with the US Air Force. The deal gave the company prime contractor position on the Air Force Civil Engineer Center Architect-Engineering 2013 environmental services contract, which had an aggregate maximum value of $500m (£353m) for the eight awardees.

Risers

Evraz (EVR) 82.55p 13.86%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 269.90p 9.05%
Allied Minds (ALM) 371.10p 8.54%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 468.00p 7.76%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 207.50p 6.85%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 204.70p 6.56%
Just Eat (JE.) 432.00p 6.43%
Senior (SNR) 223.80p 5.07%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 275.00p 5.04%
Vectura Group (VEC) 166.70p 4.51%

Fallers

Cineworld Group (CINE) 505.50p -4.98%
Cobham (COB) 228.90p -4.35%
William Hill (WMH) 391.20p -2.05%
Assura (AGR) 52.75p -2.04%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 307.50p -1.76%
Ibstock (IBST) 201.60p -1.66%
Bellway (BWY) 2,413.00p -1.63%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 546.50p -1.53%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 9,740.00p -1.42%
Redefine International (RDI) 44.76p -1.37%