Jefferies raised its target price to 460p from 440p and maintained its “Hold” rating on DS Smith, which remained unchanged at 449.3p. Investec restated its “Buy” rating on Greene King, up 2.1%, with a target price of 870p.
Abcam, up 3.7%, announced that its half-year revenues rose to £102.5m from £78.6m while its profit before tax climbed to £25.1m from £20.9m. The Board declared an interim dividend of 2.825p. Numis Securities reissued its “Add” rating on the stock with a target price of 870p.
Dialight, up 9.7%, announced that its annual revenues climbed to £182.2m from £161.4m reported in the prior year. The company’s loss before tax posted a marginal decline of £0.1m to £3.8m. N+1 Singer reiterated its “Buy” rating on the stock with a target price of 800p.
Science Group, up 3.1%, announced that its annual revenues advanced to £36.9m from £31.2m posted in the last year. Their profit before tax rose to £2.9m from £2.4m in the same period. The Board has proposed a final dividend of 4.2p. Numis Securities reconfirmed its “Buy” rating on the stock with a price of 220p.
Quixant, up 0.3%, in its trading update, announced that it anticipates the trading performance for the year ended 31 December 2016 to be in line with current market expectations. AVEVA Group, up 0.2%, announced that it has appointed Rohinton Mobed as a Non-Executive Director to the Board.
Numis Securities reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on Horizon Discovery Group, down 1.5%, with a target price of 262p.
Tristel, down 2.7%, announced that the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology has named Tristel’s Trio Wipes System and the Duo Foam products as a high-level disinfectant in its official journal, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. Separately, the company announced that Australia's Therapeutic Goods Association has given its approval for Tristel’s Fuse disinfectant as a high-level disinfectant.
CyanConnode Holdings, down 5.1%, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tech Mahindra Limited for marketing, selling and delivering their expertise in narrowband mesh technology for the smart grid, smart city and “internet of things” markets.
Vernalis, down 5.8%, announced that it has entered into a two-year partnership deal with Servier for oncology drug discovery. Sphere Medical Holding was down 22.2% despite announcing that its full-year revenues jumped to £30,000 from £15,000 reported in the previous year. Its losses before tax narrowed to £5.1m from £6m. Panmure Gordon reissued its “Buy” rating on the stock with a target price of 17p.
UK markets ended on the previous week on a positive note, amid gains in the blue-chip stocks. The construction activity in the UK surprisingly advanced in February while the house prices rose more than expected in the same month. The FTSE 100 index jumped 1.8% to settle at 7,374.3, while the FTSE techMARK 100 index climbed 2.4% to end at 4,435.7. The FTSE AIM 100 index gained 1.5% to close at 4,419.4.
US markets ended firmer in the previous week, after the Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen, offered strong signals that the benchmark interest rates might be hiked in March this year. The US flash gross domestic product advanced less than expected in the fourth quarter. The DJIA index added 0.9% to end at 21,005.7, while the NASDAQ index rose 0.4% to close at 5,870.8.
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