Broker Recommendations
Broker tips: Grafton, Life Sciences REIT
Analysts at Berenberg hiked their target price on building materials company Grafton from 1,100. 0p to 1,200. 0p on Friday, citing an "attractive opportunity".
Broker tips: Close Brothers, Bunzl
Close Brothers surged on Thursday as RBC Capital Markets upgraded the shares to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' and hiked the price target to 620. 0p from 375. 0p, citing a number of potential catalysts.
Broker tips: Kingfisher, GSK, Braemar
Citi downgraded Kingfisher to 'neutral' from 'buy' on Wednesday as it cited limited scope for near-term upgrades.
Broker tips: Bunzl, AB Foods, Flutter
Bunzl shares surged to an all-time high on Tuesday after a stronger-than-expected set of half-year results and a new share buyback programme, but that wasn't enough to change Jefferies' negative view on the stock.
Berenberg initiates coverage on Smiths Group at 'hold'
Analysts at Berenberg initiated coverage on diversified engineering business Smiths Group with a 'hold' rating and 1,757. 0p target price on Friday, stating the firm's diversification provides some relative earnings resilience but reckons stronger performance exists elsewhere in the sector.
Broker tips: Admiral, Derwent London, Segro
Jefferies upgraded Admiral on Thursday to 'hold' from 'underperform' and lifted its price target on the stock to 3,025. 0p from 2,300. 0p as it upped its earnings per share forecasts.
Broker tips: BT, Admiral, Victrex, Agronomics
JPMorgan has reiterated its 'outperform' rating and 290. 0p target price on BT Group despite competition concerns hitting the stock following the announcement that Sky has signed a wholesale deal with CityFibre.
Broker tips: Judges Scientific, Serco
Analysts at Berenberg hiked their target price on scientific instruments business Judges Scientific from 12,000. 0p to 12,400. 0p on Tuesday following the firm's acquisition of Teer Coatings holding company Magsputter.
Director dealings: Audioboom chairman raises stake
Audioboom revealed on Tuesday that chairman Michael Tobin had acquired 5,000 ordinary shares in the AIM-listed podcast group.
Broker tips: DCC, FRP Advisory, Begbies Traynor
RBC Capital Markets upgraded DCC on Thursday to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' and lifted the price target to 5,800. 0p from 5,700. 0p following recent weakness.
Broker tips: Synthomer, Beeks Financial Cloud
Analysts at Berenberg lowered their target price on chemicals company Synthomer from 375. 0p to 340. 0p on Wednesday after the group's interim earnings "delivered both grounds for hope and reasons for caution".
Broker tips: Hikma, Admiral, Bridgepoint
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on Hikma Pharmaceuticals from 2,000. 0p to 2,100. 0p on Tuesday following an "impressive" H1 performance.
Broker tips: JD Sports, Quilter, Diageo
Deutsche Bank downgraded its recommendation for shares of JD Sports from 'hold' to 'sell' due to what it saw as the inevitable cost of growing the business and trimmed their target price of 115. 0p.
Broker tips: FeverTree, Future, Spirax Group
Citi cut its price target on Fever-Tree on Friday to 950. 0p from 1,115. 0p citing slight model changes and an adjustment to its price-to-earnings valuation method.
Broker tips: Endeavour Mining, Glencore
Analysts at Berenberg lowered their target price on gold miner Endeavour Mining from 2,500. 0p to 2,100. 0p on Thursday as they rebased their estimates on the stock.
Broker tips: Frontier Developments, Spirent Communications
Analysts at Berenberg upgraded video games business Frontier Developments from 'hold' to 'buy' on Wednesday and hiked their target price on the stock from 300. 0p to 330. 0p, stating the group's pipeline had now de-risked the equity story.
Broker tips: Rolls-Royce, YouGov, Endeavour Mining
Rolls-Royce rallied on Tuesday as JPMorgan Cazenove hiked its price target on the stock to 535. 0p from 475. 0p "after another set of strong results".
Broker tips: Serco, Ecora Resources
JPMorgan Cazenove reinstated coverage on Serco on Monday with an 'overweight' rating and a target price of 215. 0p.
Broker tips: ITM Power, Coats Group, Ryanair
RBC Capital Markets reiterated its 'outperform' rating on ITM Power on Friday as it pointed to a "relatively attractive" risk/reward profile.