Monday's Stock Market Report from UK-Analyst: featuring Shire, BP and the Weekly Competition Re-run
Print this Article|
From UK-Analyst.com: Monday 6th September 2010
From Tom Winnifrith the founder of Red Hot Penny
Shares – a man who knows a hot share tip –
plus infamous short seller Evil Knievil – www.t1ps.com Some subscribers had trouble viewing the chart for our weekly competition on Friday. For that reason we are opening the competition again until 8am on Tuesday. For your chance to win a copy of the 2010 Master Investor DVD (RRP GBP12.99) simply identify the 5 year share price performance of the mystery FTSE 100 company below. To enter e-mail your entry to richard.gill@t1ps.com. The Master Investor 2010 DVD features the highlights of the UK's top investment show, including informative and incisive speeches from master investors such as "Britain's Buffett" Nigel Wray and secret millionaire Nick Leslau.
Andy Coulson, David Cameron's head of communications and a former editor of the News of the World, has said he would be happy to meet Metropolitan Police officers after Scotland Yard took a step closer to reopening an inquiry into telephone hacking at the newspaper. Meanwhile, London is bracing for significant transport disruption as the capital's underground system sees the first system-wide strikes since June last year. Meanwhile, new car registrations were almost a fifth lower in August than 12 months earlier, as consumers reined back their buying after the end of the government's scrappage scheme. In the US the markets were closed for Labor Day. In London the FTSE 100 rose 11.04 points to 5,439.19; the FTSE 250 climbed 36.3 points to 10,240.41; the FTSE All-Share advanced 6.56 points to 2,806.78; and the FTSE AIM Index finished 4.61 points higher at 713.84. Brokers' Notes Arbuthnot retained its "strong buy" recommendation and 600p target price for the ship-broker Braemar Shipping Services (BMS) in the wake of recent results from peer Clarkson. The general trend outlined by Clarkson was a strong first half of 2010, but with a more cautious second half outlook given the softness in shipping rates and the uncertain macroeconomic outlook. Consequently, the broker views Braemar as lower risk plays on the global economy and global trade, with strong balance sheets and asset-light cash generative business models that are well diversified compared with ship owners. Furthermore, Arbuthnot maintained the group's earnings per share forecast for the year ended February 2011 at 60 pence per share. The shares finished steady at 470p. Panmure Gordon maintained its "buy" recommendation and 180p target price for Barratt Developments (BDEV) ahead of the house-builder's final results later this week. Good progress has been made on improving the debt position at the group, whilst a return to profitability in the second half of the year is further good news, the broker commented. Panmure expects to see a small improvement in the forward sales position at the firm but also added that the summer period is a quiet time for house-builders and therefore any improvement is likely to be modest. The company remains the cheapest stock in the sector, the broker concluded. Barratt shares rose 1p to 104.7p.
Meet the CEOs of three small cap stocks at a Free
City Seminar Brewin Dolphin issued a "buy" recommendation for the Canadian gas and oil consultancy RPS (RPS) with an increased target price from 223p to 242p. Following a detailed review of the group's key end markets, which placed particular focus on the company's Energy division and its Australian business, the broker is encouraged by the scope for growth and cyclical recovery. Given the strength of the company's balance sheet, together with management's increasing confidence in the stability of the overall group trading performance, and more realistic vendor expectations, the Brewin expects the pace of acquisitions to increase and help deliver further earnings growth. The shares slipped 1.6p to 175.4p. Equity Development reported on the marketing services company Communisis (CMS). Trading conditions generally are not easy, but the firm is winning new business as a result of its digitally driven direct marketing strategy. There will be heavy cash demands on the group over the next two years, due to investment in new equipment, acquisition costs and payments to reduce the pension deficit, which is still a major issue. However, the drive into higher value added, higher margin markets should in turn lead to stronger cash generation and the research house expects to see net debt falling from 2012 onwards. In price to earnings terms the shares stand at a significant discount to the support services sector and the small cap market, Equity Developments added. Communisis shares dipped 0.25p to 24.5p. Blue-Chips Shire (SHP), the biopharmaceutical company, commenced the tender offer by its subsidiary Shire Holdings Luxembourg to acquire Movertis, the European gastrointestinal specialty pharmaceutical company, for 19 Euros (16 pounds) per share. The company has entered into agreements with institutional shareholders in which they have unconditionally committed 38.9% of Movetis' existing ordinary share capital to the offer. Additionally, a shareholder controlling a further 5.9% of Movetis' existing ordinary share capital has entered into an agreement to tender its shares to the offer. Shire shares finished 8p ahead at 1,459p.
Make the most of Thailand without leaving
home BP (BP.) has revived the sale of its fields in Alaska after failing to dispose of them to Apache of the US earlier this year. The UK oil group is hoping to sell part of its stake in Prudhoe Bay, the giant Alaskan field, according to banking sources. BP had been in negotiations with Apache, a US independent oil and gas group, to sell it half of its 26% stake in Prudhoe Bay as part of a package of assets. That deal, however, became too complex and Apache finally agreed to pay 7 billion dollars (4.5 billion pounds) for onshore gas assets in the US, Canada and Egypt. Apache is still seen as a buyer by industry bankers, who also cited Occidental, a US group, as another potential suitor. BP shares flowed 4.8p higher to 406.5p. Santander (BNC), the Spanish banking group, is set to launch a recruitment drive that could see it hire 6,000 people as it presses ahead with UK expansion. The bank, which has come under fire for poor customer service, plans to hire 600 people over the coming months to improve performance. But those familiar with recruitment plans say it is in the market for up to 6,000 over the next year or two. That would be in addition to 5,000 frontline employees it is inheriting from Royal Bank of Scotland as part of last month's acquisition of 318 branches. Santander shares rose 5p to 822.5p. Mid-Caps Fenner (FENR) shares climbed 7.5p 218.2p as the British industrial conveyor belt maker announced that its results would be at the top end of its expectations after a strong performance in the final two months of its 2010 financial year. The company, whose belts are predominately used in the mining industry, anticipated a significant year-on-year increase in operating profit and believed new products, together with its investment programme, would boost margins in 2011. "Our acquisitive growth programme remains ongoing and is expected to yield incremental benefits in the current year," the firm added.
Gold set to head higher - will it be $1500 or
$3,000
United Bus
Media (UBM),
the business information services provider, announced it
is to acquire UM Paper, a Shanghai-based information and
analytical services business, from Sanwell Group for
440,000 dollars (284,219 pounds). The deal includes a
further performance-related consideration of up to
440,000 dollars (284,219 pounds) payable over the next
two years. "UM Paper helps us toward fulfilling our
ambition to become the leading information provider for
the paper and board industry in China," the company
commented. UBM shares shed 10p to 568.5p.
Easyjet (EZJ) shares ascended 4.7p to 381.1p after the budget airline reported an 8.4% rise in passenger numbers in August. Passenger numbers in August reached 5.2 million, up from 4.8 million in the comparable period a year earlier, as numbers for the year rose by 7.7% to 48.4 million. Load factor, which shows the proportion of seats sold to those available, increased 0.5% in August to 92.3%, while in the twelve months to August load factor was up 1.5% to 86.9%. These figures come days after company founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou announced plans to expand his empire with the launch of no-frill fitness club chain easyGym. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS Oilex (OEX) shares surged 11.25p to 19.25p on news of a substantial reserves and resources upgrade at its 45%-held Cambay field in India following the nine-month detailed technical studies to unlock potential of "tight" reservoirs. Using leading-edge North American "shale gas" industry technology, the Australia-based company estimated the field holds 248 billion cubic feet of gas and 11 million barrels of condensate with a 90% certainty of being produced. "The studies indicate a very good correlation between the Cambay Eocene reservoirs and the Eagle Ford and Haynesville reservoirs, two of the most prolific ‘tight/shale gas' plays in North America," the firm added. Staffline (STAF) shares jumped 29.5p to 129.5p subsequent to the outsourcing group announcing a "successful" first half year with trading in line with management's earlier heightened expectations. For the six months ended 30th June 2010, the company reported pre-tax profit increased by 50% to 2.1 million pounds on revenue of 83.4 million pounds, up by 70% in the comparable period a year earlier. The business benefited from the impact of a number of new business wins, recent acquisitions and increased demand from existing clients. "Whilst we expect the economic backdrop to remain tough in the markets where we operate, we remain confident that our model will allow us to operate profitably and continue to grow," the firm commented. Investors who followed Tom Winnifrith's advice to buy shares back in March at 77.5p are currently sitting on gains of 67%. For more tips like this from the UK's best tipping service, visit T1ps.com. Markets Move Fast. Keep up with GFT's Free Guide. Learn to Harness Market Volatility.
Determine if a market is in trend or range (and what that
means) Click here to download your Guide. In an attempt to show the feasibility of smart-phones as a platform for Cloud video editing, Forbidden Technologies* (FBT), the cloud video platform developer, has revealed the first smart-phone prototype utilising its FORscene software. Users, who have long been able to collaborate through desktop platforms such as PCs, Macs and Linux, can now also search, review and edit their thousands of hours of material from their smart-phones. When they use it, edits saved on one system appear automatically and immediately on all other devices logged on to the account. All the features of the FORscene front end, including the built-in chat system, are available on the prototype. Forbidden shares jumped 3.5p to 24.5p on the news. Vane Minerals (VML) shares tumbled 0.75p to 2.125p after the mining company posted higher losses. For the six months to 30th June 2010, the firm reported a pre-tax loss of 1.4 million pounds, up from 0.65 million pounds in the comparable period a year earlier, as revenue remained flat at 1 million pounds. This huge loss was on the back of a jump in costs of sales, up by 77% to 1.5 million pounds, and 0.12 million pounds impairment of exploration costs. Separately, the firm announced plans to raise in excess of 2 million pounds through a placing to increase the mining capabilities in Mexico and allow it to ramp up the next stage of exploration of its sizable uranium and porphyry copper assets portfolio. Commenting on this, the board said: "The next 12 months look particularly encouraging."
Get free annual reports on a wide range of
companies Strategic Natural Resources (SNRP) shares climbed 1.75p to 11.75p following the southern Africa-focused mining company announcing that the article published by the Sunday Express yesterday contained "no information...that is not currently available in the public domain." The article mentions the company's recently updated Component Persons Report (CPR) and ongoing Export Feasibility Assessment Study (EFAS) currently being carried out by Golder Associations, as well as the opportunity for the company to supply coal to the export and South African power sector.
Following the liquidation of its investment in Fireshield
Cables Systems, PLUS-quoted investor NJD Capital
(NJDP)
has completed a 33.3% investment in Fireshield Cables by
subscribing to a 1 pound ordinary share. The liquidation
of the business follows its aerospace division failing to
obtain an expected significant order and the building
division being unable to continue to support the business
as a whole. As part of the investment NJD Capital has
agreed to consider options on how to assist Fireshield
Cables in exploiting the Fireshield Cables Systems
intellectual property. Furthermore, if opportunities do
exist, NJD has agreed to provide the firm with working
capital by way of a loan repayable on demand of up to
10,000 pounds, on which interest will accrue at a rate of
10% per annum. NJD shares finished at 103p.
* The company is a corporate client of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of this website; the T1ps Smaller Companies Growth Fund, which is managed by T1ps Investment Management, a subsidiary of RSH, owns shares in Forbidden Technologies.
|
