FTSE 250 movers: Restaurant Group leads risers, Genus tops fallers

The Restaurant Group was a top riser on London’s second tier index after the pub and restaurant chain announced the departure of its chief executive Danny Breithaupt, who has been with the company for 15 years.

PageGroup rallied a day after reporting a 16% increase in first half pre-tax profits as revenues rose on the back of strong growth in Continental Europe and Latin America. Shares were down on Thursday as investors focused on the group’s cautious outlook.

Tullow Oil was given a boost after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ and lifted the price target to 285p from 275p. BofA noted the shares have materially underperformed the sector but believes Tullow is “one of the most compelling levered E&Ps to gain exposure to an upswing to a recovery in oil prices”.

On the downside, Genus shares were under pressure after a US judge ruled against the animal genetics company in its case versus US rival Sexing Technologies. The court found that its ABS unit had materially breached the confidentiality obligations under the 2012 semen sorting agreement between the parties.

A.G. Barr shares also fell as Berenberg downgraded its rating on the stock to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ and cut its target price to 470p from 530p, citing a “weak” trading update by the soft drinks maker.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Restaurant Group (RTN) 429.10p 13.88%
Ibstock (IBST) 173.40p 8.04%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 285.10p 7.06%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 368.70p 5.61%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 188.20p 4.61%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 231.40p 4.56%
Marshalls (MSLH) 296.60p 4.51%
AO World (AO.) 154.50p 4.46%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,455.00p 4.25%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 308.70p 4.08%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Genus (GNS) 1,756.00p -9.39%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 995.00p -3.59%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 292.30p -3.12%
PayPoint (PAY) 1,000.00p -2.91%
G4S (GFS) 226.50p -2.50%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 513.50p -2.47%
Softcat (SCT) 339.40p -2.36%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 196.30p -2.05%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 297.30p -1.88%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 587.00p -1.76%