Cambridge Index drops 2.4%

The Cambridge Index declined 2.4% or 577.1 points to settle at 23,415.4, as the top six Index heavyweights recorded weekly losses to their share prices.

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Greene King, down 6.4%, announced that it has appointed Richard Smothers as the new Chief Financial Officer with effect from February 2018. Liberum Capital reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on the stock with a target price of 780p.

Elektron Technology, up 9.4%, in its trading update for the six months ended 31 July 2017, announced that its half-yearly sales rose 1.9% to £15.3m from £15.0m recorded in the same period last year. Furthermore, the company mentioned that growth in Bulgin organic order continued in the second quarter, while Checkit also continued to grow as expected. Meanwhile, sales in IMC contracted during the period. The company’s net cash as at 31 July 2017 was £2m, compared to £0.5m on 31 July 2016. Moreover, the company expects to publish its interim results for the period on 21 September 2017.

Quixant, up 7.9%, announced that its interim results for the six months period ended 30 June 2017 will be released on 21 September 2017. Xaar, up 4.8%, announced the retirement of Ted Wiggans as the Chief Operations Officer on 09 August 2018.

Vernalis, down 13.8%, announced, in relation to a New Drug Application for its CCP-08 product, that a Complete Response Letter has been issued by the US Food and Drug Administration. Stifel Nicolaus lowered its target price on the stock to 21p from 24p and maintained its “Hold” rating. Panmure Gordon reissued its “Hold” rating on the stock with a target price of 40p. RX Securities reiterated its “Buy” rating on the stock. N+1 Singer reaffirmed its “Hold” rating on the stock with a target price of 28p.

Gaming Realms, down 14.0%, announced that a number of investors have subscribed to 10.3m new ordinary shares in the capital of the company at a price of 11p per subscription share to successfully raise approximately raise £1.1m. The net proceeds will be utilised to increase unique game creation and license the content on its remote game server.

Netcall, down 17.6%, announced that it has acquired a leading cloud-based low-code software provider, MatsSoft Limited, for an initial cash consideration of £11.1m and issue of 3.5m new ordinary shares of 5p each in its capital. Additionally, the company stated that deferred cash consideration of up to £2.3m and 9.5m shares will be paid after the specified performance targets are reached over various intervals from completion of the deal. Also, the company mentioned that its results for the year ended 30 June 2017 are expected to be broadly in line with market expectations. FinnCap restated its “Corporate” rating on the stock with a target price of 70p.

UK markets finished in the red in the prior week, after data released by RICS showed that the nation’s house price balance surprisingly dropped to its lowest since March 2013 in July. Also, the UK’s total trade deficit unexpectedly widened in June amid rising imports of goods and services. Meanwhile, the British industrial production advanced more-than-expected in June. The FTSE 100 index dropped 2.7% to settle at 7,309.9, while the FTSE techMARK 100 index fell 2.2% to end at 4,357.7. Moreover, the FTSE AIM 100 index eased 0.3% to close at 5,029.66.

US markets closed lower in the last week, on the back of escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and North Korea after the two countries exchanged a fresh salvo of verbal attacks. On the macro front, the nation’s inflation rose less-than-expected in July. Meanwhile, the US JOLTS job openings jumped to a record high level in June, while the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed in the last week. The NASDAQ index fell 1.5% to close at 6,256.6, while the DJIA index lost 1.1% to end at 21,858.3.

 

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