FTSE 250 movers: Sophos recovers; Softcat retreats on interims

London's FTSE 250 was down 0.3% to 19,667.54 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Sophos was the standout gainer, recovering from losses earlier in the week on the back of a profit warning from Micro Focus and a downbeat note from Northern Trust Capital Markets, which said the company's balance sheet was stretched and highlighted a slowdown in sales momentum.

Medical products company Convatec was boosted by an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' by RBC Capital Markets.

"Convatec's share price appears rangebound post the results but we think the new guidance is achievable, and even beatable. With expectations rebased, but Convatec's shares trading at a discount to peers in spite of being a leader in its markets and a strong cash generator, we see an opportunity," the bank said.

Oilfield services provider Petrofac gushed higher as it was awarded a contract by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation for its sulphur recovery unit block package for the Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project (VRMP), at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.

On the downside, Softcat fell sharply even as the provider of IT infrastructure products and services reported a rise in interim operating profit and revenue and lifted its dividend by 14% amid strong customer demand. Traders pointed out that the stock had rallied strongly into the results. Credit Suisse said the results were "very strong" and lifted its price target on the stock to 700p from 600p but cut the rating to 'neutral' from 'outperform' as it said the shares were "up with positive events".

Homewares retailer Dunelm was under the cosh on read-across from B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher, which slumped after reporting an 8% fall in annual profits on flat sales and issuing a very cautious outlook.

888 Holdings retreated as Numis downgraded it to 'hold' from 'add' due to a more challenging regulatory environment.

Ocado was under pressure as Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to 'neutral' and removed it from its Conviction List following "material" outperformance.

"While we believe there is a material opportunity for Ocado in the online grocery space, our target price already includes seven further OSP deals to be signed over the next 10 years of a similar size to those two.

"Thus, over the next 12 months, we see material upside only through the announcement of an agreement with a major grocer that could demand far more OSP capacity than we forecast, or a takeover bid - neither of which we have visibility on."

Risers

Sophos Group (SOPH) 457.70p 9.87%
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 79.11p 8.67%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 199.30p 4.29%
Hunting (HTG) 730.00p 3.47%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 233.40p 3.37%
Just Group (JUST) 134.10p 3.15%
Kier Group (KIE) 990.00p 3.12%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 926.00p 2.89%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 506.00p 2.82%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 462.60p 2.62%

Fallers

Softcat (SCT) 599.00p -11.78%
Charter Court Financial Services Group (CCFS) 294.00p -5.16%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 518.50p -4.69%
888 Holdings (888) 266.40p -3.55%
Greene King (GNK) 463.90p -2.81%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 177.00p -2.75%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 552.60p -2.75%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 969.00p -2.71%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 369.00p -2.64%
Provident Financial (PFG) 897.47p -2.62%