FTSE 250 movers: Fisher floored by note, Qinetiq climbs on deal
The FTSE 250 index drifted lower on Wednesday amid thin trading volumes in the pre-Christmas week.
Falling furthest was marine engineer James Fisher, which was hurt by a note from Jefferies that said the valuation looked a tad full. Analysts initiated coverage with a 'hold' rating and, saying that investors "may have over-extrapolated the value of a series of large contract wins during 2016", set a price target of 1,570p.
Respiratory-focused medical products maker Vectura was down as it announced that Swiss pharmaceutical company Norvartis has signed a licensing agreement with Sunovion Pharmaceuticals for the US commercialisation rights to three treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for which it receives royalty revenue. Novaris, whose products use Vectura’s inhaler technology, signed the agreement for Utibron Neohaler, Seebri Neohaler and Arcapta Neohale.
But there were plenty of stocks filling investors with festive cheer, including QinetiQ, which has agreed to acquire Meggitt's Target Systems unit for £57.5m on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The business, which is expected to generate roughly £5.5m of operating profit from £28m revenue in the current calendar year, should open new routes to market to accelerate QinetiQ's international growth, it said, and is expected to be EPS accretive in the first full year of ownership.
Greencore shares were in the green thanks to a complimentary note from broker Howard Whitman, where analysts reiterated their ‘buy’ rating and 310p price target following a meeting with the company’s chief financial officer. It said key messages included a positive outlook for UK Food to Go, sustained momentum within the incumbent US business – notable accounts include 7-Eleven and Starbucks – and positive expectations for the newly acquired Peacock Foods.
Likewise, Shawbrook was on the up after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the challenger bank to ‘sector perform’ from ‘underperform’ and lifted the price target to 280p from 210p as it upped its earnings forecasts. The bank noted the stock is off 26% this year versus the sector average off 2%. In addition, it pointed out that its 2017/18 earnings per share forecasts are now 15%/17% above consensus, adding that consensus is wrong by “a significant margin”.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,033.15 -0.15%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,730.64 -0.22%
FTSE 250 - Risers
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 261.30p 5.11%
Greencore Group (GNC) 246.50p 3.61%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 171.60p 3.00%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 124.10p 2.90%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 266.80p 2.38%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 367.00p 2.09%
Drax Group (DRX) 362.60p 2.03%
P2P Global Investments (P2P) 802.50p 1.97%
Keller Group (KLR) 818.50p 1.87%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 228.60p 1.78%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,540.00p -3.57%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 348.50p -3.36%
Essentra (ESNT) 446.50p -2.72%
Vectura Group (VEC) 133.00p -2.64%
G4S (GFS) 228.10p -2.56%
AO World (AO.) 179.90p -2.23%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 3,065.00p -2.08%
Cobham (COB) 168.80p -1.97%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,257.00p -1.95%
Evraz (EVR) 214.00p -1.83%