Broker Recommendations
Broker tips: Sage, Thomas Cook, BTG
Sage was under pressure on Friday as Goldman Sachs downgraded its stance on the software company to 'neutral' from 'buy' and cut the price target to 670p from 780p, arguing that the risk/reward is now more balanced following estimate resets and a more realistic revised outlook.
Broker tips: Dignity, Cobham, British American Tobacco, Greene King
Peel Hunt cut its stance on funeral services provider Dignity on Thursday as the Competition and Markets Authority said it was launching a full investigation into the funeral market after identifying "serious concerns" over large price hikes.
Broker tips: Yellow Cake, Marks & Spencer, Thomas Cook, Vodafone
Analysts at Berenberg upped its target price on uranium specialist Yellow Cake on Wednesday, pointing to a "resuscitated spot market" and rapidly rising uranium prices.
Broker tips: EasyJet, NMC Health, Greggs
Liberum upped its target price on low-cost carrier EasyJet on Tuesday, but despite the airline's "strong long-term fundamentals", the broker remained cautious regarding its short-term prospects.
Broker tips: Pennon, Severn Trent, United Utilities, Wood Group
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets downgraded Pennon on Monday on the belief that the water and waste group will have a difficult time outperforming many of its peers.
Broker tips: NMC Health, Indivior, British Land
UAE healthcare provider NMC Health surged on Wednesday as JPMorgan Cazenove said it continues to be a strong growth story thanks to a mix of organic initiatives and aggressive M&A activity and bumped the stock up to 'overweight' from 'neutral', hiking the price target to 4,265p from 3,450p.
Broker tips: Easyjet, Carnival
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Liberum both took a look at EasyJet after the budget airline's results on Tuesday, coming to slightly different conclusions about what the future holds for FTSE 100 constituent.
Broker tips: Mears, Mitie, GoCompare
Analysts at Liberum said Mitie's decision to sell its social housing businesses - Mitie Property Management and MPS Housing - to Mears Group for as much as £35m in cash was a "sensible deal" that strengthened both balance sheets.
Broker tips: Aston Martin Lagonda, Premier Oil
A day after Aston Martin Lagonda's first trading update after floating in London last month, the upmarket carmaker received positive write-ups from analysts at Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Cazenove.
Broker tips: G4S, Royal Mail, British American Tobacco
Credit Suisse lowered its estimates on G4S following its third-quarter trading statement, but the Swiss bank said the private security outfit's investment case was still "sufficiently attractive" for it to reiterate its 'outperform' rating on the group.
Broker tips: Direct Line, Micro Focus, Rio Tinto
Deutsche Bank downgraded its stance on Direct Line to 'hold' from 'buy' on Wednesday and cut the price target to 370p from 390p as it reduced its earnings estimates on the back of higher-than-expected claims inflation, resulting in greater compression in margins.
Broker tips: Pennon Group, Sophos
Pennon Group shares now look fair value, said Deutsche Bank on Tuesday, as it downgraded its stance on the stock to 'hold' from 'buy'.
Broker tips: Informa, JD Sports, Sports Direct, Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Kepler Cheuvreux upped its stance on Informa to 'buy' from 'hold' on Monday following an "encouraging" 10-month trading statement from the events and publishing company.
Broker tips: Hochschild Mining, AA, Vodafone
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets upgraded silver and gold miner Hochschild Mining to 'outperform' on Friday, noting that it was now "more positive" on the potential lifespan of its Inmaculada asset following the group's Capital Markets Day on Wednesday.
Broker tips: Hunting, G4S, Sophos
Hunting was on the up on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity upgraded its stance on the energy services provider to 'buy' from 'hold' following share price weakness.
Broker tips: Marks and Spencer, British Land, Hammerson, NewRiver REIT, Land Securities, NWF
Half-time results from Marks & Spencer divided analysts, with some lamenting the glacial progress in the retailer's turnaround but others seeing the dividend as safe and a just reward for investor patience.
Broker tips: Flybe, AB Foods
Analysts at HSBC upgraded low-cost carrier Flybe to 'buy' on Tuesday, noting that the value of the firm's assets seemed to have been "ignored" since its profit warning in late October.
Broker tips: Babcock International, Ashtead
Babcock International was under pressure on Monday after RBC Capital Markets cut its stance on the engineer to 'sector perform' from 'outperform' with 'speculative risk' and slashed the price target to 700p from 1,000p.
Broker tips: StanChart, Smith&Nephew, System1
Analysts at Shore Capital reiterated their 'buy' recommendation for shares of StanChart at the end of the week.
Broker tips: Safestyle, Cairn Energy, Nostrum Oil and Gas, Premier Oil, Tullow Oil
Analysts at Berenberg feel the worst may finally be over for oil and gas exploration and production outfits, with the sector having emerged from its latest downturn stronger than before and ready to reap the benefits of a stronger commodities market.