Broker Recommendations
Thursday broker round-up
Petrofac: Kepler Cheuvreux downgrades to hold with a target price of 660p.
Jefferies downgrades Softcat after share price strength
Softcat was under the cosh on Thursday as Jefferies cut the stock to 'hold' from 'buy' following recent share price strength.
Morgan Stanley downgrades Centrica as headwinds build
With Centrica shares trading at the same level as they had been before it profit warning back in November, Morgan Stanley reassessed its stance as the British Gas owner continued to lose customers across its UK and US businesses, and faces further headwinds.
Goldman Sachs and Citi downgrade Evraz
Following the recent strong share price performance from Evraz, analysts at Goldman Sachs and Citi both saw fit to downgrade their ratings for the Russian steelmaker on Wednesday.
Wednesday broker round-up
Centrica: Morgan Stanley downgrades to underweight with a target price of 115p.
UBS reiterates 'buy' rating on Vodafone
With the bulk of the group performing well, analysts at UBS reiterated their stance on shares of Vodafone on Tuesday, highlighting how the telecommunications giant's organic service revenues ended the fourth quarter ahead of analysts' estimates.
Indivior downgraded to 'neutral' at Citi
Despite a strong run in its shares, Citi still saw potential upside from the delay of generic versions of Indivior's Suboxone beyond 2018, but still warned of "conservatively modelled generic competition".
Best of TUI's cruise story now behind company, Credit Suisse says
Analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated their 'neutral' recommendation for shares of TUI, arguing that the best for the company's 'cruise story' now lay behind it, while pointing to the 'hard to justify' premium versus Thomas Cook Group that the shares were trading on.
Tuesday broker round-up
Indivior: Citigroup downgrades to neutral with a target price of 500p.
Bernstein upgrades Compass after pullback
Catering company Compass got a boost on Monday as Bernstein upped the stock to 'outperform' from 'market perform'' and lifted the price target to 1,750p from 1,650p following a recent pullback in the shares and ahead of what it reckons will be a stronger second half.
Monday broker round-up
ZPG: RBC Capital Markets downgrades to sector perform with a target price of 490p.
RBC sees 'good chance' of a takeover deal at IWG
Following IWG's announcement that it had received a takeover approach from one private equity company and proposals from two others, analysts at RBC Capital Markets think there is a "good chance of a deal" for a number of reasons.
Morgan Stanley says UK equities set to trump economic uncertainty
UK equities offer fertile ground for stock-pickers, Morgan Stanley says, despite the poor macroeconomic outlook.
Canaccord upgrades Rathbones after share price weakness
Canaccord Genuity upgraded Rathbone Brothers to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ on Friday following recent share price weakness.
Randgold is a 'great buying opportunity', says Citi
Mining giant Randgold Resources' shares offered "a great buying opportunity" after falling on the back of its first-quarter results, Citigroup said as the miner was a quality stock with an attractive valuation.
Berenberg cuts target price on Nichols following Middle East woes
Despite beverage maker Nichols continuing to make good progress in new markets, Berenberg was still concerned that blows to its Middle East operations as a result of the ongoing conflict would hurt profit growth across the firm as a whole.
Berenberg downgrades Greggs on weaker LFL growth
Greggs’ weaker like-for-like growth at the start of 2018 and management’s cautious outlook suggest near-term performance could be more subdued, Berenberg said as it cut the stock to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and reduced the price target to 1,225p from 1,425p, adding that this could cause a delay in the special dividend.
Take profits in Severn Trent, says Bernstein, or don't says Cazenove
There were differing opinions among analyst over UK utilities on Friday, with water company Severn Trent in particular downgraded by Bernstein and recommended by JPMorgan Cazenove.
IMI represents 'interesting' buying opportunity, says Jefferies
After sitting on the sidelines and biding their time on IMI for a while, analysts at Jefferies felt that the stock now represented an "interesting" buying opportunity at its current valuation.