Broker Recommendations
Peel Hunt starts Avacta at ‘buy’ with 99p price target
Peel Hunt initiated coverage on Avacta on Thursday with a ‘buy’ rating and 99p price target as it pointed out three key aspects of the investment case.
Berenberg lowers target price on Liontrust following H1 results
Analysts at Berenberg lowered their target price on Liontrust Asset Management from 625. 0p to 500. 0p on Thursday but said the group was still "well positioned for when markets turn".
Jefferies sees downside risk at Auction Technology Group
Jefferies has kicked off coverage of Auction Technology Group with an 'underperform' rating, saying it sees continued downward pressure on consensus forecasts.
Berenberg ups target price on Petershill Partners
Berenberg raised their target price on investment company Petershill Partners from 235. 0p to 270. 0p on Wednesday following the group's Q3 results a day earlier.
Citi reassured by Informa update on "robust" trading
Citi has reiterated its 'buy' rating for Informa after a "robust" trading update from the B2B publishing and events group this week, saying that shareholders should be reassured that underlying trends are strong.
Jefferies hikes price target on DCC, says ‘simplicity can unlock value’
Jefferies hiked its price target on buy-rated DCC on Tuesday after the sales, marketing and support services group announced last week that it was planning to simplify its operations and focus on the energy sector.
JPMorgan reiterates ‘overweight’ on Just Group, lifts price target
JPMorgan Cazenove reiterated its ‘overweight’ rating on Just Group on Tuesday and lifted the price target to 200p from 190p after it completed a £1. 8bn full buy-in with the Trustee of the G4S Pension Scheme, covering the benefits of around 22,500 members.
Berenberg lowers target price on Judges Scientific
Analysts at Berenberg lowered their target price on scientific instruments business Judges Scientific from 12,400. 0p to 11,310. 0p on Tuesday, stating the group was approaching a "trough cycle".
RBC Capital starts Sainsbury’s at ‘outperform’, Tesco at ‘sector perform’
RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage on Sainsbury’s and Tesco on Tuesday, saying it sees "attractive" growth prospects for the two major UK listed grocery retailers.
RBC Capital lifts XPS Pensions price target
RBC Capital Markets lifted its price target on XPS Pensions on Monday to 395p from 355p ahead of first-half results.
Berenberg lowers target price on John Wood
Analysts at Berenberg slashed their target price on engineering and consulting business John Wood Group from 150. 0p to 60. 0p on Monday, stating an independent review into its projects business had created "substantial uncertainty".
Berenberg hikes target price on Flutter Entertainment
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on Flutter Entertainment from 20,300. 0p to 23,200. 0p on Friday, stating that the bookmaker's Q3 performance showed sustained share gains.
RBC hails 'impressive' growth at Premier Foods, ups target price
The rally in Premier Foods' share price has further to run, according to RBC Capital Markets, which reiterated an 'outperform' rating on the stock on Friday, as it hiked its target price following the manufacturer's interim results this week.
Davy starts coverage of De La Rue at 'outperform'
Davy initiated coverage of banknote printer De La Rue on Thursday with an ‘outperform’ rating and 160p price target, which provides 70% upside.
ShoreCap downgrades Capita, cites impact of NICs changes
Shore Capital downgraded its stance on Capita on Thursday to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ ahead of detailed guidance on the potential negative impact from changes to National Insurance contributions announced in last month’s Budget.
Shore Capital upgrades Spirax to 'hold', considers stock "fair value"
Shares in Spirax were rising on Thursday after the company delivered a solid third-quarter update, with shares supported by a broker upgrade from Shore Capital which lifted the stock from 'sell' to 'hold'.
Berenberg lowers target price on Oxford Instruments
Analysts at Berenberg lowered their target price on manufacturing and research company Oxford Instruments from 2,925. 0p to 2,830. 0p on Wednesday, citing a "strong underlying performance".
ShoreCap downgrades Serco to ‘hold’
Shore Capital downgraded Serco on Wednesday after the outsourcer said last week that it had lost its long-running Australian immigration detention centres contract and estimated that changes to employer national insurance contributions would increase labour costs by £20m a year.
Berenberg raises target price on Pan African Resources
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on Pan African Resources from 34. 0p to 45. 0p on Tuesday after the group announced that it had agreed to acquire Australia's Tennant Consolidated Mining Group.
Citi highlights reassuring Melrose Industries site visit
Citi said in a note on Tuesday that a recent site visit at Melrose Industries’ Western Approach highlighted "a number of industry-leading technologies".