FTSE 250 movers: Investors go after Laird; Aggreko goes flat

Shares in Laird were the pick of the 250 risers on Wednesday after UBS upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ on Wednesday but lowered its target price to 350p from 375p.

“We see four reasons to buy: 1) A stronger H2 in smart-phones (easier comparable period, new launches and penetration/content gains); 2) Auto (telematics) revenue materialising as a strong revenue stream to diversify the traditional perceived reliance on mobile devices; 3) The likely benefit over time of multiple antennae technologies (MIMO) penetrating mobile devices and infrastructure more fully; 4) The rising need for secure remote wireless controls,” UBS said.

Last Friday Laird reported a 39% drop in first half underlying pre-tax profit to £16.4m, reflecting weak Apple sales, a decline in margins at the Wireless Automation and Control Solutions (WACS) business and integration issues with newly acquired Novero.

Pendragon still found favour after reporting a jump in first-half pre-tax profit on Tuesday and said it does not expect to see any material impact from the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

In its interim results to the end of June, the FTSE 250 car dealership chain said underlying pre-tax profit rose 9.7% to £3.9m, as revenue grew 1.5% to £2.3bn thanks to increased contributions from the used vehicle departments.

Aggreko tumbled Wednesday after the temporary power provider posted a drop in first-half profit and revenue as weak oil prices took their toll on the company.

For the six months to the end of June, pre-tax profit slid 31% to £61m on revenue of £685m, down 12% from the same period in 2015. Analysts had been expecting revenues of around £712m.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,969.50 -0.55%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Laird (LRD) 317.60p 7.59%
Pendragon (PDG) 32.05p 3.59%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 210.00p 3.35%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 173.90p 2.78%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 176.10p 2.56%
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 90.45p 2.49%
William Hill (WMH) 309.40p 2.48%
Genus (GNS) 1,885.00p 2.39%
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 340.40p 2.28%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 265.00p 2.24%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aggreko (AGK) 1,060.00p -13.89%
Meggitt (MGGT) 405.90p -3.86%
Drax Group (DRX) 317.10p -3.50%
G4S (GFS) 177.90p -3.47%
Ascential (ASCL) 242.60p -2.96%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 527.00p -2.95%
Beazley (BEZ) 390.60p -2.57%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 223.90p -2.48%
Workspace Group (WKP) 674.50p -2.46%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 411.00p -2.44%