KBC Peel Hunt is bullish about the prospects of the firm after unveils a further udpate on its Molchanovskoye field in Poltava, Ukraine.
The broker’s respected analyst Tony Alves says: ‘ The (new well’s) flow rate of 3.9 mmcf/d of gas and 120 b/d of condensate is a three-fold improvement on the test rate for the […]

Landsbanki says the downbeat trading statement will have a knock-on effect on sector sentiment, hitting First Choice and TUI (who are merging). There may also be some collateral damage to Holidaybreak.
Broker says: ‘The UK has not been as strong as expected and as already highlighted the group has been unable to fully pass on the […]

Landsbanki sees plenty of value here with stocks down 22% compared with a 13% fall in the market. It points out that the pain has been most acute for Michael Page, Robert Walters and SThree which have tumbled 29%, 29% and 35% respectively. It says buy all three. Broker explains: ‘This (fall) is to be […]

Collins Stewart has a bullish 100p a share price target on this one. Says Merck collaboration is progressing well and reckons there are a number of other similar deals with Big Pharma in the pipeline.

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KBC Peel Hunt says buy after a bumper set of interims. Broker says: ‘We are comfortable with our top of the range profit forecasts as revenue growth (driven by customer numbers and ARPA) continues to exceed our expectations. We see the increase in costs as investment in the future which will materialise very shortly.’

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Landsbanki has restarted coverage ahead of the first half results with a buy recommendation. Broker says: ‘We see good long-term drivers for this stock with increasing regulation globally affecting the products it tests, topical safety and quality concerns driving product testing, and support from the ongoing manufacturing shift from the northern to southern hemisphere.
‘The company’s […]

Daniel Stewart says buy up to 66p. Describes interim results as ’solid’ and says there is scope for earnings upgrades.

Collins Stewart restates its buy up to 300p despite the distractions of its legal spat with Lonza and class action lawsuit in the States, brought by investors. Broker reckons both will be resolved ‘in the short term’. Says the real driver to share price outperformance will be the launch of its potentially revolutionary cancer drug […]

UBS has upgraded to buy from neutral, though it has cut its price target to 270p from 285p. Valued at a little over 12 times prospective earnings it offers a bargain buy opportunity, the broker says.

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UBS has raised its recommendation on the stock to buy from hold and upped its price target to 925p from 900p a share. The upgrade takes account of the firm’s growing oil and gas reserves.

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Deutsche Bank’s review of the first half results sees the broker keep its buy recommendation and bullish 45p a share price target. DB says: ‘Results beat expectations and allayed concerns on current trading and on the efficacy of the high affiliate marketing spend in Q1 that was highlighted in the May 2nd trading update. Management […]

Landsbanki says reduce despite what looked like a solid set of interims. Broker explains: ‘These are largely historic. H2 is all important following the introduction of the English smoking ban from July and the loss of s21 machines (payout £500) from September.
‘The group reported the immediate English smoking ban has hit sales by 4.4%, less […]

UBS has cut its price target to 1300p from 1375p, to reflect its more cautious valuation approach. But it reckons the firm is ‘deceptively cash generative’ and retains a buy recommendation on the stock.

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Landsbanki says reduce despite a reasonably robust trading period. Broker says: ‘We expect LFL growth in the stores to substantially moderate or turn negative once the flat-panel TV boom subsides and the company is also vulnerable to a likely downturn in discretionary spending in the UK . With very high operational gearing the bottom line […]

JP Morgan says the turnaround of the business - particularly in the US - will be slower than first anticipated. Has cur back its price target by 10p to 285p but keeps its overweight recommendation.

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Citigroup has raised its price target to 700p from 575p and says buy after better than expected interim results.

UBS reckons that restructuring and cost cutting will continue to drop to the bottom line as it raises its price target to 890p from 810p. It rates the stock a buy.

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Citigroup has shaved its price target back to 180p from 190p to reflect downgrades to forecasts. Broker remains a seller.

Merrill Lynch is predicting pain for firms letting property to industry. Broker has therefore cut its recommendation to hold from buy amid concerns that the downturn in the commercial arena will also hit this specialised

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UBS upgrade to neutral from buy on valuation grounds. I’ll let them explain: ‘Since the group’s AGM statement in early August, Detica has underperformed the FTSE 250 by
11.3%. We believe this share price performance is unwarranted given robust end markets, both in the UK and the US, and the group’s superior track record. Trading at […]