FTSE 250 Movers: Housebuilders on the up but Laird falters

The FTSE 250 index fell 0.07% to 17,981.19 in late afternoon trade.

Computacenter, a provider of IT infrastructure services and consulting, rallied as UBS upgraded its stance on the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ and upped the price target to 840p from 795p. The Swiss bank said the company’s international business is underappreciated and cash returns are likely in 2017.

Housebuilders were on the rise after Barclays published a note on the UK sector, saying that aside from a brief spike in cancellations immediately after the Brexit vote, they were continuing to trade well.

British housebuilding company Crest Nicholson got a boost as Barclays said the stock was its ‘top pick’, replacing Redrow, following a period of share price underperformance that has left it looking “highly attractive”.

Bellway was also on the rise after Barclays bumped up its price target from 2,214.6p to 3,004.1p with its rating staying at ‘overweight’ due to its presence in the London housing market.

Rentokil, a UK based pest control company, reported a jump in revenue for the third quarter following an “excellent” performance from the pest control business. Revenue was up 32.1% to £578.3m, or 15.7% higher at constant exchange rates.

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air flew higher as RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of the company at ‘outperform’ with a 2,100p price target. The bank said Wizz offers cash generative growth a non-growth multiple. In addition, it pointed out that it has higher growth markets, with a cost base and scale few competitors match.

Irish food company Greencore was higher as Jefferies maintained its 'buy' rating and 410p price target. The bank said it feels the market is getting the stock the wrong way round, with the UK being “under-appreciated, and undervalued”, and the US “the price of an option on something that could still be interesting”.

On the downside, British electronics and technology business Laird was weaker after it warned profits for the full year would be lower than expected due to delays in the mobile devices cycle and increased margin pressure. This made for a "very challenging trading performance" for its Performance Materials (PM) arm in the three months to 30 September, which has led new chief executive Tony Quinlan to cut full year guidance for underlying profit before tax to around £50m, with the analyst consensus nearer £75m.

Risers

Computacenter (CCC) 755.00p 7.02%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 431.90p 5.88%
Bellway (BWY) 2,499.00p 4.74%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 581.50p 4.59%
Countrywide (CWD) 206.70p 4.08%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 234.20p 3.90%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 261.80p 3.89%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,530.00p 3.45%
Greencore Group (GNC) 315.00p 3.01%
Hays (HAS) 143.10p 2.73%

Fallers

Laird (LRD) 162.80p -47.23%
SIG (SHI) 112.80p -3.51%
JRP Group (JRP) 128.50p -3.38%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,404.00p -2.70%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 268.90p -2.57%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 290.00p -2.52%
AO World (AO.) 178.20p -2.30%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 189.80p -2.16%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 373.80p -2.15%
IP Group (IPO) 144.50p -2.03%