Broker Recommendations
Barclays ups Mitie to 'overweight' on cost cutting plans
Analysts at Barclays highlighted Mitie's current strategy as being a "good fit" for shifts in the facilities management market and upgraded the shares to 'overweight' from 'underweight'.
Bernstein reiterates 'outperform' rating on Prudential, ups target price
Analysts at Bernstein took a fresh look at life insurance firm Prudential on Thursday, reiterating their 'outperform' recommendation on the group's shares, as well as upping their target price as a result of some tweaking to its post-FY17 results estimates.
Numis sees tangible commercial progress at Allied Minds, upgrades it to 'buy'
Analysts at Numis upgraded their rating on intellectual property group Allied Minds on Thursday, highlighting the fact that the 15% drop in its net asset value per share over the last year was merely the result of a "further clean-up in the portfolio".
Goldman Sachs says Just Eat delivery investment is right decision
Goldman Sachs kept its 'buy' rating on Just Eat as it continued to include it in its Conviction List, saying the company's decision to invest in own its own delivery service "is the correct one".
Marshalls bucks the gloom in UK construction, Berenberg says
Marshalls is a well-run company in the right parts of the UK construction market, Berenberg analysts said as they gave the paving specialist's shares a ‘buy’ rating.
Thursday broker round-up
Sabre Insurance Group plc: Numis downgrades to add with a target price of 330.
Polypipe investor interest 'to remain elevated' - Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank reiterated its 'buy' rating on plumbing and drainage systems manufacturer Polypipe on Wednesday, saying the firm looked set to extend its track record of reliable delivery.
Credit Suisse downgrades Softcat on valuation but says interims 'very strong'
Credit Suisse downgraded its stance on IT infrastructure products and services provider Softcat on Wednesday on valuation grounds, as it said the shares were "up with positive events".
Barclays marks up target for LSE, buys into management's target for margins
Analyst consensus for the London Stock Exchange was too cautious, Barclays said.
CS cuts Ferguson target on FX, reiterates 'outperform' on solid fundamentals
Credit Suisse cut its price target on plumbing and heating supplier Ferguson, formerly Wolseley, but kept its 'outperform' rating on the stock.
Wednesday broker round-up
Ocado Group: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral with a target price of 540p.
Goldman Sachs downgrades Ocado to 'neutral' after outperformance
Goldman Sachs downgraded its stance on Ocado to 'neutral' and removed the stock from its Conviction List following "material" outperformance.
JP Morgan sees Barclays's shares closing valuation discount
Analysts at JP Morgan Cazenove reiterated their 'overweight' stance and 250p target price for shares of Barclays following activist shareholder Sherbourne's disclosure of a 5. 2% stake in the outfit and a meeting with its finance chief, Tushar Morzaria.
Fund managers' pessimism on UK at record high, BofA-Merrill says
Fund managers were still 'long' on equities, despite rising worries over trade and stagflation, thanks to optimism on the outlook for earnings and interest rates, the results of a widely-followed poll showed.
JPM adds Tesco to its European 'best ideas' list
JP Morgan has added Tesco to its list of 'overweight' best European equity ideas while removing Just Eat and Persimmon from the rankings.
Tuesday broker round-up
Micro Focus: JP Morgan downgrades to underweight with a target price of 900p.
Barclays tells investors in Micro Focus not to get carried away
Keep the faith! was the message from Barclays for investors in Micro Focus following the prior day's faith-shattering near halving in the company's share price.
Credit Suisse revises year-end 2018 target for MSCI AC World higher
Credit Suisse's equity strategy team led by Andrew Garthwaite has marked-up its year-end 2018 target for the MSCI AC World index from 614 points to 628 points, despite the current "extreme" equity valuations on offer on an absolute basis.
Credit Suisse ups Hammerson target, says Klepierre deal more likely than Intu
Credit Suisse has upped its price target on neutral-rated Hammerson a day after it emerged that it recently rejected a £5bn bid from French shopping centre operator Klepierre, a scenario it deems to be more likely to go ahead than the planned acquisition of Intu Properties announced in December.
Shire still offers 50% upside, reckons Morgan Stanley
Analysts at Morgan Stanley took a fresh look at rare diseases specialist Shire on Monday, revisiting their bear case as the investment bank reiterated its 'overweight' rating on the group.