FTSE 250 movers: Spire and IMI slump again; Auto Trader races ahead on results

London’s FTSE 250 index was down 0.7% to 16,754.00 as investors digested some disappointing Eurozone and US data in the form of GDP and retail sales.

Spire Healthcare was under the cosh again as JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’ and slashed the price target to 310p from 388p following the company’s update on Thursday, in which it cut full year revenue guidance. JPM said the update was likely to drive near-term downgrades and increased uncertainty. “Given recent disappointments, we believe market forecasts are likely to err on the side of caution,” the bank said.

IMI suffered losses for the second day running, having slumped on Thursday after saying it expects adjusted earnings for the year to be towards the lower end of the range of current market estimates amid challenging market conditions. It was hit again on Friday after Societe Generale downgraded its stance on the stock to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and chopped the price target to 975p from 1,350p.

“We remain upbeat on the longer-term benefits of the strategic turnaround programme but with global industrial demand taking another leg-down we see little scope for upside surprise over the next 12 months,” SocGen said.

FirstGroup put in a stellar performance, making gains for the second day in a row following after its first half numbers on Thursday met expectations and it stuck to its outlook. The bus and train operator posted a 33% drop in first-half pre-tax profit as revenue fell due to the loss of certain rail franchises and a later than normal start to this school year for US students.

Shares in Auto Trader raced ahead after the provider of classified advertising for automobiles said second-half revenue was up 8% on the previous period to £138.2m, with reported operating profit up 23% to £82.9m in the six months to 27 September. "We continue to grow our audience of car buyers and develop products to add value to our retailers, helping them remain competitive and make informed decisions based on real-time market data, allowing them to buy and sell the right stock at the right price”, Auto Trader chief executive Trevor Mather said.

FTSE 250 - Risers

FirstGroup (FGP) 104.50p 4.92%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 315.20p 4.30%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 419.80p 3.20%
esure Group (ESUR) 257.40p 2.84%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,797.00p 2.10%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 374.60p 2.07%
Bodycote (BOY) 503.00p 1.82%
AO World (AO.) 159.00p 1.73%
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 190.50p 1.71%
PayPoint (PAY) 1,006.00p 1.62%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 317.60p -4.80%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 107.10p -3.69%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 92.15p -3.56%
IMI (IMI) 869.00p -3.34%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 57.55p -3.20%
Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,326.00p -3.07%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 154.80p -2.64%
Renishaw (RSW) 1,827.00p -2.56%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 134.00p -2.55%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 359.40p -2.50%