Liberum Capital restated its “Buy” rating on Johnson Matthey, down 4.2% whilst UBS reissued its “Sell” rating.
Greene King, up 0.4%, announced that at the CKA General Meeting it has received an irrevocable undertaking from the trustees of the Li family trusts to vote in favour of the acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Greene King which is not already owned by or on behalf of the CKA Group. Further, it mentioned that the irrevocable undertaking will come to an end if CK Bidco publicly confirms that it does not aim to progress with the acquisition by way of a takeover offer.
JP Morgan Cazenove trimmed its target price on Abcam, up 2%, to 1134p from 1144p and gave a “Neutral” rating.
Bango, up 16.3%, announced that its interim revenues surged to £4.3m, while its loss before tax narrowed to £1.3m.
Horizon Discovery Group, up 14.5%, in its half yearly results, announced that revenues advanced to £28.6m from £25.1m reported in the same period last year. Its loss before tax contracted to £6.1m from £7.8m posted in the preceding year, whereas basic and diluted loss per share dropped to 3.5p from 5.1p in the previous year.
Cambridge Cognition Holdings, up 3.9%, in its interim results, announced that revenues declined to £2.2m from £2.8m reported in the same period last year. Its loss before tax widened to £1.7m from £1m posted in the prior year, whereas its basic and diluted loss per share rose to 7.7p from 5p in the previous year.
Brady, down 1.8%, announced that its interim revenues fell to £9.5m, while its loss before tax widened to £3.5m.
Kier Group, down 4.9%, announced that its final group revenue fell to £4.1m, while its loss before tax stood at £244.9m. Separately, the company announced the retirement of Philip Cox as the Chairman as well as his resignation from the board following the appointment of his successor. Peel Hunt reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on the stock.
Quixant, down 50.3%, announced that its interim revenues declined to $41.9m, while its profit before tax halved to $2.9m. Berenberg slashed its target price on the stock to 175p from 425p and a “Hold” rating.
UK markets finished mostly higher in the last week, amid a weaker pound, citing dovish comments from Ireland’s Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney over Brexit deal. The UK’s inflation slowed to its lowest level in three years in August. Also, Britain’s retail sales advanced in August, while the nation’s house price index climbed at its weakest pace in 7 years in July. The Bank of England (BoE), in its latest policy meeting, decided to leave its key interest rates steady at 0.75%. The FTSE 100 index declined 0.3% to settle at 7344.9, while the FTSE AIM 100 index rose 0.1% to close at 4525.8. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 0.6% to end at 5384.9.
US markets ended in negative territory in the previous week, amid losses in consumer discretionary and industrial sector stocks. The US housing starts surged to its highest level in 12 years in August, while the nation’s existing home sales unexpectedly rose to a 11-month high level in September. Moreover, the US manufacturing production advanced more than estimated in August. The US Federal Reserve, in its latest monetary policy meeting, slashed its key interest rate by 25 bps which now stands in the range of 1.75% - 2%. However, the central bank upgraded its 2019 economic growth to 2.2% from earlier projection of 2.1%. The DJIA index fell 1% to end at 26935.1, while the NASDAQ index lost 0.7% to close at 8117.7.