Broker Upgrades and Downgrades & Key UK Corporate Snapshots 20 July 2015

UK Broker Upgrades / Downgrades

 

 

Code Company Broker Recomm. From Recomm. To Price From Price To
Upgrades
BME B&M European Value Retail Deutsche Bank Buy Buy 350 375
DRTY Darty Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Underweight Underweight 60 66
HFD Halfords Group Plc Cantor Fitzgerald Hold Hold 500 565
HSBA HSBC Holdings Plc CitiGroup Neutral Buy 635
PTEC Playtech Ltd Deutsche Bank Buy Buy 950 1040
Downgrades
BLT BHP Billiton Plc Morningstar Buy Hold
PRU Prudential Plc Jefferies International Buy Hold 1802 1753
Initiate/Neutral/Unchanged
AAL Anglo American Plc Nomura Reduce Reduce
AAL Anglo American Plc Goldman Sachs Sell Sell
AAL Anglo American Plc Deutsche Bank Buy Buy
AZN AstraZeneca Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral Neutral
BLT BHP Billiton Plc Deutsche Bank Hold Hold
BT.A BT Group Plc Deutsche Bank Hold Hold 425 425
BVIC Britvic Plc Nomura Buy Buy
CNA Centrica Plc Jefferies International Buy Buy 310 310
CPG Compass Group Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral Neutral 1165 1165
DCC DCC Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight Overweight 5590 5590
DGE Diageo Plc Nomura Buy Buy 2180 2180
EZJ easyJet Plc Nomura Buy Buy
GLEN Glencore Plc Deutsche Bank Hold Hold
HLMA Halma Plc Credit Suisse Outperform Outperform
HSV Homeserve Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral Neutral 407 407
LLOY Lloyds Banking Group Plc Deutsche Bank Buy Buy
MERL Merlin Entertainments Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral Neutral 450 450
MGAM Morgan Advanced Materials Plc Credit Suisse Underperform Underperform
PSON Pearson Plc Nomura Neutral Neutral
RB. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Neutral Neutral
RBS Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Deutsche Bank Hold Hold
RIO Rio Tinto Plc Deutsche Bank Buy Buy
ROR Rotork Plc Credit Suisse Neutral Neutral
SAB SABMiller Plc Nomura Neutral Neutral
TCG Thomas Cook Group Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight Overweight 165 165
ULVR Unilever Plc Nomura Reduce Reduce
ULVR Unilever Plc JP Morgan Cazenove Underweight Underweight
VOD Vodafone Group Plc Nomura Buy Buy
VSVS Vesuvius Plc Credit Suisse Underperform Underperform
WEIR Weir Group Plc/The Credit Suisse Outperform Outperform
WPP WPP Plc Jefferies International Buy Buy 1780 1780

 

US Broker Upgrades / Downgrades

 

 

Code Company Broker Recomm. From Recomm. To Price From Price To
Upgrades
AMRB American River Bankshares Sandler O’Neill Hold Buy
APA Apache CitiGroup Neutral Buy
ARMH ARM Holdings Investec Hold Buy
BAC Bank of America Argus Hold Buy $20 $20
CGG CGG JP Morgan Underweight Overweight
ENDP Endo International RBC Capital Markets Outperform Top Pick $98 $107
FCS Fairchild Semiconductor International FBR Capital Market Perform Outperform $20 $20
GOOGL Google A Axiom Capital Hold Buy $615 $850
LFL LATAM Airlines Group Goldman Sachs Sell Neutral
MLM Martin Marietta Materials BB&T Capital Markets Hold Buy $185 $185
MDCA MDC Partners Albert Fried Market Perform Overweight
MIICF Millicom International Cellular JP Morgan Neutral Overweight
RKUS Ruckus Wireless Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey Neutral Buy
SON Sonoco Products DA Davidson Underperform Neutral
TE TECO Energy Mizuho Neutral Buy $19 $24
TSCO Tractor Supply Piper Jaffray Neutral Overweight
WNS WNS Holdings Needham Buy Strong Buy $30 $35
Downgrades
AGN Allergan RBC Capital Markets Top Pick Outperform $361 $361
BCS Barclays PLC Investec Hold Sell
BBY Best Buy BofA Merrill Lynch Buy Underperform
CVC Cablevision Systems Jefferies Buy Hold $24 $24
FQVLF First Quantum Minerals Credit Suisse Outperform Neutral
FRC First Republic Bank FBR Capital Outperform Market Perform $60 $65
FSNUY Fresenius SE Goldman Sachs Buy Neutral
JDWPY JD Wetherspoon Nomura Neutral Reduce
NOV National Oilwell Varco UBS Neutral Sell $50 $35
NGS Natural Gas Services Group Global Hunter Securities Buy Neutral $26 $23
NRBAY Nordea Bank Swedbank Buy Neutral
NVEE NV5 Holdings Global Hunter Securities Accumulate Neutral
PRIM Primoris Services Global Hunter Securities Accumulate Neutral
SWI SolarWinds Robert W. Baird Outperform Neutral $60 $50
TE TECO Energy UBS Buy Neutral $20 $22
Initiated
GTN Gray Television RBC Capital Markets Outperform $20
KPTI Karyopharm Therapeutics BofA Merrill Lynch Neutral $32
MRGE Merge Healthcare Dougherty & Company Buy $6
MDXG MiMedx Group Brean Capital Buy $16
PYPL PayPal Holdings Wedbush Neutral $40
SPLK Splunk RBC Capital Markets Outperform $85
TPX Tempur Sealy International Cantor Fitzgerald Hold $64
TRV Travelers Cos Piper Jaffray Neutral
UNH UnitedHealth Group Mizuho Buy $146
VCISY Vinci SA Bryan Garnier Buy

 

Key UK Corporate Snapshots Today

Adamas Finance Asia Limited (ADAM.L) Announced that it has received a further payment of $0.75 million from Global Pharm Holdings Group, Inc. (“Global Pharm”) under the redemption agreement announced on 18 December 2014 for which the company was due to receive an initial payment of $2.4 million on 31 December 2014, a further $9 million on 31 March 2015 and a final payment of $13.6 million on 30 April 2015, amounting to an aggregate of $25 million. The initial payment was received, but the second and third payments were not made in accordance with the agreement. The company has now received three payments of $0.75 million which have been offset against the $9 million which was due on 31 March 2015. Overdue amounts from the two payments due on 31 March 2015 and 30 April 2015 are subject to penalty interest of 26% per annum, compounded on a daily basis. The company’s Investment Manager, Adamas Global Alternative Investment Management Inc., remains in discussions with Global Pharm to resolve the matter and agree a revised redemption schedule.

Aquatic Foods Group Plc (AFG.L) Announced, in its trading update ahead of its Annual General Meeting, that the group’s trading for the first five months of the year to 31 May 2015 has continued in line with expectations and the positive trend shown in 2014 with unaudited revenues of approximately RMB 369 million (2014: RMB 292 million) an increase of approximately 26%.The group is progressing discussions in relation to the requirement for increased processing and cold storage capacity and will update the market in due course. The group’s outlook for the current financial year remains unchanged. Additionally, the company also announced that John McLean, Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director has decided to withdraw his name for election as a Non-Executive Director of the company at the AGM on 20th July 2015. Mr McLean’s resignation will take effect following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.

AVEVA Group Plc (AVV.L) Announced that AVEVA Group PLC (“AVEVA”), one of the world’s leading providers of engineering design and information management solutions, and Schneider Electric SE (“Schneider Electric”) have reached a non-binding agreement on the key terms and conditions of an acquisition of selected Schneider Electric industrial software assets (including, among others, the former Invensys software assets) (“Schneider Software”) by AVEVA (the “Transaction”). Schneider Software’s product portfolio offers solutions in Process Engineering & Optimisation, Operations Planning & Scheduling, Operations Execution Management, Asset Management, Operations Control and Information Management. AVEVA will acquire Schneider Software on a debt-free cash-free basis and receive from Schneider Electric upon completion £550 million for consideration of new AVEVA shares to be issued to Schneider Electric, such that Schneider Electric will own 53.5% of the Enlarged AVEVA Group’s (as defined below) fully diluted share capital immediately post completion. Based on the current AVEVA share price, the c. 74.0 million AVEVA shares to be issued to Schneider Electric as part of the Transaction have a current market value of c. £1.3 billion. The cash payment (described above) from Schneider Electric will be distributed upon completion (together with AVEVA’s net excess cash, as described below) to AVEVA’s shareholders (excluding Schneider Electric).

Brady Plc (BRY.L) Announced, in its trading update for the half year to 30 June 2015, that the group continues to show global leadership in the metals business as well as increasing its global presence in the recycling business. Following a successful competitive tender, the company signed a major deal with one of the world’s largest commodity companies to support their global refined metals and raw materials activities. Additionally the company was pleased to be appointed by a world leading recycling company, to deploy the group’s systems in Australasia, as part of the recycling company’s strategic expansion. The board was pleased that during the period the Group signed a total of nine new contracts compared to seven last year, especially given the challenging market conditions in the sectors in which we operate. Full details of the group’s financial performance for the period ended 30 June 2015 will be provided in the interim results, which are expected to be announced on 7th September 2015.

British Land Co Plc (BLND.L) Announced, in its first quarter trading update, that there was strong occupational demand with lettings well ahead of ERV. The company achieved practical completion at 5 Broadgate in June and handed over to UBS to start fit out. The financial position remains strong. The company raised £350 million of convertible bonds due 2020, at a zero coupon with flexible settlement options. First quarter dividend confirmed at 7.09p, 2.5% ahead of prior year.

DP Poland Plc (DPP.L) Announced, in its unaudited trading update, that total system sales were up 23.3% in the first half of 2015 and it sees continued double digit like-for-like store growth in system sales, order count and gross profit. The company’s Store EBITDA continues to improve with its top 3 stores delivering an average of +£26k in the first half of 2015, compared to +£7.5k in the first half of 2014. Additionally, the company is well advanced in site negotiations and store construction for expansion into new cities in Q4 2015.

Feedback Plc (FDBK.L) Announced that it has successfully completed the large evaluation of TexRAD CT texture analysis (CTTA) as a pre-therapy imaging biomarker in 241 metastatic renal (kidney) cell cancer (m-RCC) patients treated with anti-angiogenic therapy (AAT – drugs that block cancer blood-vessel growth). This research study was led by Dr. Andrew Smith (Associate Professor in Radiology and Director of Radiology Research) along with colleagues from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA (UMMC). The results from this large study demonstrate that TexRAD texture analysis on conventional CT imaging acquired before m-RCC patients underwent AAT, was a very strong predictor of overall survival at 2 years.

Horizon Discovery Group Plc (HZD.L) Announced, in its trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that the revenues stood at £8.6 million, 112% growth from the previous year (six months to 30 June 2014: £4.1 million). The group receivables for future R&D stood at £158 million plus future product royalties (six months to 30 June 2014: £120 million). In the product segment, revenue was approximately £3.0 million during the period, representing strong period on period growth and continues to represent an increasing proportion of total group revenues. Significant expansion in the cell line and diagnostic reagent product inventory to around 16,500 products (six months to 30 June 2014: around 2,750) driven by internal product development and the integration of the cell line inventory acquired through the acquisition of Haplogen Genomics GmbH in the period. The company expanded sales channel for cell line products in the rapidly growing genomics research market via an agreement signed with Thermo Fisher Scientific that provides global reach and supply into academic laboratories. The company expanded sales channel for diagnostic reagent products through Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) partnerships with ArcherDX, CareDx and Transgenomic. It launched its first commercially available engineered mammalian cell line for use in manufacturing of therapeutic antibodies. The product has generated significant early revenues and is anticipated to be a further driver of growth going forward. Services business performance was in line with expectations, delivering revenue of approximately £5.4 million, representing significant growth on the previous year, based in part on the successful integration of acquisitions within its core business. It launched new genetic screening services, including on the company’s CRISPR-Cas9 sgRNA technology platform, that has generated several contracts and is expected to be a significant driver of future growth.

Independent Oil & Gas Plc (IOG.L) Announced, an update on its short term funding, that on 8th July 2015 the company had advised its shareholders the delayed subscription of 609,500 shares at a price of 23.79p was expected to be paid by 17 July 2015 and after the payment, the company would be fully funded until 4 September 2015. But it did not receive the funds on 17 July 2015. The company has received confirmation from the investor that it has the available funds and that payment should now be received within the next few days. The company will announce confirmation of the receipt of funds once they are received. An update on the long term funding position of the company will also be made in due course.

IPSA Group Plc (IPSA.L) Announced that it has noted the announcement made on 17 July 2015 by Rurelec PLC regarding the completion of the sale of its stake in the Canchayllo hydroelectric plant in Peru. Since the update on 2 March 2015 regarding the deferred consideration owed by Rurelec , Rurelec has made an interim payment to the Company’s main creditor, Ethos Energy, on behalf of IPSA so that the residual amount of the deferred consideration still owed to IPSA from the sale of the Westinghouse Siemens gas turbines to Rurelec is now £2.91 million. The Company is in discussion with Rurelec regarding the timing of the receipt of this balance although there is no clarity yet on the timing of it. IPSA also announces that, following its recent draw down of funds from the IDC for the expansion of power capacity onsite at Newcastle, it has progressed its search to bring in a black economic empowerment (BEE) partner at its operating subsidiary, Newcastle Cogeneration Pty Limited (“NewCogen”). IPSA is now in negotiations with suitable BEE partners willing to acquire for cash a holding in NewCogen, although there can be no certainty a successful sale will be completed. Having a BEE partner would assist the Board’s plans to add additional capacity at Newcastle under the new Gas to Power programme of the South African Government. The Board is satisfied with trading conditions at NewCogen following the successful MTPPP contract extension with Eskom and the plant continues to operate well. The Company’s working capital remains tight and is being carefully managed. This will remain to be the case and the Company is reliant on the receipt of the remaining balance of funds owed by Rurelec from the sale of turbines to satisfy the amount of €2.85 (euros) now due to its principal creditor, being Ethos Energy, and a loan of £500,000 together with accrued interest repayable to Radix together with the forbearance of these creditors. A further sum of €2.6 million (euros) is due to Ethos Energy by 30 September 2015. The Company also intends to sell its remaining balance of plant in relation to the previously sold turbines held in its balance sheet at a value of £4 million and the proceeds from any sale of a minority interest in NewCogen in order to satisfy its remaining creditors and provide additional working capital for the Company.

IQE Plc (IQE.L) Announced, in its trading statement for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that first half trading is ahead of the same period last year delivering growth in EPS and a further reduction in borrowings. The group has performed in line with expectations and remains on track to achieve its full year expectations. For the first half, the company expects revenues of £53.2 million, up 2% (H1 2014: £52.0 million). The company also expects adjusted operating profit of £6.7 million, up 5% (H1 2014: £6.4 million). Adjusted fully diluted EPS is expected to be 0.9p, up 5% (H1 2014: 0.86p). The company will release its half year results on 15 September 2015.

Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (KGI.L) Announced a reminder that the admission of its ordinary shares for trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange plc (“AIM”) will be cancelled with effect from 7:00 a.m. UK time on August 3, 2015. The last trading day on AIM will be July 31, 2015. The Company continues to maintain its listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”).

Michelmersh Brick Holdings Plc (MBH.L) Announced, in its unaudited half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that its reported revenue stood at £15.3 million, compared to £13.6 million in the preceding period. Profit after tax was £2.0 million compared to £1.0 million. The company’s diluted earnings per share was 2.46p, compared to 1.23p. Additionally, it also announced that from 01 January 2016, Frank Hanna, currently Commercial Director and Peter Sharp, Group Operations Director, will jointly share the role of Chief Executive Officer. Martin Warner who currently sits in this role will remain an Executive Director but will move to Deputy Chairman. From the proposed date, Frank and Peter will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the Group and charged with continuing to drive the Group forward in the next phase of the company’s development.

Milestone Group Plc (MSG.L) Announced that it has entered into a joint venture (“JV”) agreement with Black Cactus Holdings Pty Ltd (“Black Cactus”) to develop and commercialise all existing IP owned by Black Cactus under an exclusive global licence. The JV will trade as “Nexstar” and will be incorporated under the company’s dormant subsidiary Nexstar League Limited. Black Cactus will also provide the JV with development capability, digital content and use of IP and the company will provide creative services, business development and audience activation services. This provides a complementary suite of products and services to Milestone from which a number of revenue opportunities are expected. It is also expected that the JV will assist in the company’s development of valuable relationships and content for the Company’s flagship product, The Passion Project. Ownership of the JV will be 51% by Milestone and 49% by Black Cactus with a 50/50 revenue share. The new JV will give Black Cactus a UK base and distribution partner as well as access to additional resourcing whilst Milestone obtains an enhanced vertical product offering and additional revenue growth opportunities.

Motive Television Plc (MTV.L) Announced that its fully-owned subsidiary Motive Television Services Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MTN (Maritime Telecommunications Network) Satellite Communications of Miramar, FL USA (MTN). Under the MOU, the company will provide the company’s BYOD TV technology and paid engineering support to assist MTN in developing new services to be marketed by MTN to its worldwide clients.

Nektan Plc (NKTN.L) Announced an update on trading ahead of its results for the full year ending 30 June 2015. Nektan plans to publish its preliminary results for the period in late September 2015. The Board expects FY2015 net gaming revenue to be approximately £0.5 million, with the adjusted EBITDA loss (excluding listing costs, exchange differences and non-cash charges relating to share based payments) to be better than expected, at approximately £5.5 million for the period, resulting from tight management of the fixed cost base. The Company made considerable progress during the period in its target European and US markets, despite the delay in securing additional funding earlier in the year. This held back the Company’s rate of investment and revenue growth in the second half, but investment has since resumed. The Board remains confident of achieving significant revenue and EBITDA growth, albeit at a lower level in the short term, from a more focused investment in the high growth and higher margin Real Money Gaming sectors.

Oilex Limited (OEX.L) Announced that it was undertaking a capital raising package to secure approximately A$30 million (before costs) (Capital Raising). A component of the Capital Raising included approximately A$9.4 million through the issue of 225,490,196 Shares to Zeta Resources Limited (Zeta Deferred Shares) at A$0.04182 per Share.

Rex Bionics Plc (RXB.L) Announced that it has today signed a new agreement for a partnership in China with MAAB Group, an investment and trading company that specialises in sourcing and introducing innovative medical technologies into China. Under the terms of the agreement, MAAB will manage the process of applying for China Food and Drug Administration regulatory approval for REX as well as the sales, marketing and distribution of the product once it is approved. Product launch could take place from the second half of 2016, subject to approval.

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (RR..L) Announced that it has been selected by SAUDIA, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia to provide long-term TotalCare engine service support, worth $1.3 billion, for 20 Airbus A330 Regional aircraft. Additionally, it also mentioned that the company has also been selected by International AirFinance Corporation (IAFC) to provide Trent 700 engines, worth $930 million, for 20 Airbus A330 Regional aircraft.

Sabien Technology Group Plc (SNT.L) Announced that through Westhouse Securities Ltd (“Westhouse”), it has conditionally placed with institutional and other investors (the “Placing”) 9,860,000 new ordinary shares of 5p each (the “Placing Shares”) and that TVI 2 Limited, an existing shareholder of the company, has subscribed (the “Subscription”) for 1,140,000 new ordinary shares of 5p each (the “Subscription Shares”). The Placing Shares and the Subscription Shares are being issued at 7 pence per share raising £770,000 (before expenses) for the company.

Standard Chartered Plc (STAN.L) Announced that the group will be overseen by a new 13 strong management team reporting to Bill Winters, group Chief Executive and comprising the three Group Executive Directors, plus client and regional CEOs and functional heads. The new management team will meet with immediate effect, with the appointments formalised on 1 October 2015.

Tullow Oil Plc (TLW.L) Announced that gas export from the Jubilee Field to the Ghana Gas plant at Atuabo has been suspended since 3 July 2015 due to technical issues with gas compression systems on the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah and is expected to resume by mid-August. Oil production is currently constrained to approximately 65,000 bopd and is under constant review but there is no effect on the Field’s reservoir or resources. The company has mobilised a team of experts to rectify the fault within the gas compression system and estimates that it will take approximately a further 3 weeks to reinstate gas export and full oil production. The company will review its 2015 production forecast for Jubilee and provide an update on progress at its half yearly results on 29th July.

UBM Plc (UBM.L) Announced that Robert Gray has been appointed CEO of PR Newswire effective 01 August 2015, succeeding Ninan Chacko. On this date Bob will step down as CFO and as a Director of the company, but will remain a member of the its Executive Committee.

W.H. Ireland Group Plc (WHI.L) Announced its results for its half year ended 31 May 2015. Revenue rose to £15.9 million from £14.7 million reported in the same period a year ago. Profit before tax surged to £0.6 million from £0.2 million. Chief Executive Richard Killingbeck said “We have reported an improved and profitable first half performance with increased discretionary funds under management in Private Wealth Management and increased numbers of clients in Corporate Broking. The actions we have taken in order to achieve the margins that the Company is capable of producing will begin to benefit the second half and beyond. We remain cautiously optimistic and look forward to the next six months with confidence.”

XLMedia Plc (XLM.L) Announced, in its trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that the company has continued to deliver a strong trading performance in the first six months of 2015, generating revenues of not less than $36.4 million and adjusted EBITDA of not less than $12.0 million. This performance represents growth of approximately 83% and 87% respectively compared to the first six months of 2014. The company attributed its strong first half performance to the successful implementation of the company’s growth strategy and maintained focus on performance. The majority of its revenue is performance based, such as revenue share or cost per acquisition, with high value users able to be delivered to the customers on a risk free model. The company continues to attract high quality users by constantly investing in its technology and content.

Click to view all articles for the EPIC: , ,
Or click to view the full company profile:
    Facebook
    Twitter
    LinkedIn
    DirectorsTalk

    More articles like this