Credit Suisse Group AG restated its “Outperform” rating on Johnson Matthey, down 2.2%, with a target price of 3400.0p. JPMorgan Chase reaffirmed its “Overweight” rating on Kier Group, up 0.1%, with a target price of 1550.0p.
Frontier Developments, up 0.8%, announced that it has appointed Alex Bevis as its Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 April 2017.
Sareum Holdings, which remained unchanged at 1.1p, announced that it will be granted patent by the Japan and Singapore Patent Offices for the inventions related with Sareum's Aurora+FLT3 kinase inhibitor programme. Shares of the company were trading flat on Monday, following a successful outcome of its feasibility study on its TYK2 programme lead molecules that treats T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
Barclays restated its “Equal Weight” rating on AVEVA Group, down 1.5%, with a target price of 1450.0p.
Marshall Motor Holdings, down 2.0%, announced that it was unaware of any reasons behind the recent sharp movement in its share price, other than the general speculation regarding the potential impact of Brexit on the UK economy and the automotive sector. Moreover, the Board reiterated that its trading for the full year will remain in line with its previous expectations.
Tristel, down 3.1%, announced that its annual revenues jumped to £17.1m from £15.3m in the previous year. Profit before tax slightly rose to £2.59m from £2.55m in the last year. The Board recommended a final dividend of 2.19p per share.
Sepura, down 3.2%, announced that its partner, Eastcom, renewed its distribution agreement to sell Sepura’s products in the Chinese market. Today, the company stated that it has appointed Alan Lovell as Chairman and David Barrass as Interim Chief Executive Officer, both with immediate effect.
Horizon Discovery Group, down 4.3%, announced that it has entered into a new licensing agreement with a commercial partner for a minimum worth £0.5m.
Xaar, down 6.7%, announced that Alex Bevis, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, will leave the company, with effect from 24 March 2017.
FinnCap reaffirmed its “Corporate” rating on Cambridge Cognition Holdings, down 12.5%, with a target price of 115.0p.
1Spatial, down 19.3%, announced that its half yearly revenues plunged to £13.4m from £20.7m in the same period last year. Loss before tax widened to £2.1m from £0.793m in the previous year. The Board stated that it is confident regarding its full year expectations, despite few challenges in the second half. N+1 Singer reissued its “Corporate” rating on the stock.
Shares of Abcam were trading slightly lower on Monday following news that it has decided to lease a new facility for its global headquarters in Cambridge, UK, subject to the grant of full planning approval.
UK markets ended mostly higher in the last week, pushed by retail and banking sector shares. On the macro front, retail sales in the UK remained flat on a monthly basis in September. The FTSE 100 index gained 0.1% to 7,020.5, while the FTSE AIM 100 index added 0.1% to close at 3,975.2. However, the FTSE techMARK 100 index declined 2.5% to 4,366.5.
US markets closed slightly higher in the previous week. Meanwhile, the US inflation picked up pace on a yearly basis in September, touching its highest level since October 2014. Also, existing home sales printed in better than expected for September, reviving investors’ confidence in the nation’s economy. The DJIA index remained flat at 18,145.7, while the NASDAQ index advanced 0.8% to 5,257.4.
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