ARM Holdings, up 4.0%, announced that it has entered into a licence agreement with Cavium Inc., under which the latter has acquired a licence for ARMv8 architecture. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley retained its “Overweight” rating on the stock with a target price of 725p, while brokers such as BNP Paribas and UBS recorded a “Neutral” rating on the stock.
Elsewhere, Merchant Securities issued a “Buy” rating on the stock of Aveva Group, up 1.2%, and set a target price of 1900p. CSR, up 3.4%, announced that it would hold a general meeting to seek shareholders' approval for its $310m cash deal with Samsung, as well as the proposed $285m share buyback.
HiWave Technologies surged 13.1% and emerged as the top gainer in the Cambridge Index. Vernalis, up 4.9%, announced that its outlook for the remainder of 2012 and beyond is positive, adding that it is aiming for profitability in the medium term. Vernalis’ first half revenue rose 36% to £5.9m, while loss after tax more than halved to £3.2m. Other noticeable gainers were Netcall, Domino Printing Sciences and Tristel, all up between 5.9% and 12.5%.
Cyan Holdings, down 2.7%, approved the placing of 602,730,000 new ordinary shares at 0.35p each, to raise approximately £2.1m before expenses, and the issue of warrants of up to a further 301,365,000 new ordinary shares at 0.5p. Regarding the status of the TNEB’s automatic meter reading tender, Cyan announced that only two companies have passed the CPRI testing, both of which are its partners.
Blinkx, down 2.5%, announced that it has entered into a partnership with Kiplinger to give Blinkx users access to informative videos on everything from stock tips to smart saving suggestions. Liberum Capital downgraded the stock of Greene King, down 2.0%, to “Hold”, while raising its target price on the stock from 575p to 593p. Elektron Technology, down 1.3%, announced that its electrical connectivity brand, Bulgin, has launched a new series of waterproof, rugged, power, signal and data connectors, designed to withstand the harshest environments.
Building, civil engineering and property development group, Kier, down 0.4%, announced that it has completed its investment in Biogen UK Ltd, to establish a joint venture with the owner of Bedfordia Group. The company also stated that it has completed the sale of its temporary accommodation business and related real estate assets to Wernick Hire Limited for a maximum aggregate consideration of £11.73m.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 index closed 2.8% higher, at 5,787.3, helped by upbeat earnings updates from some UK companies and following better-than-estimated US economic data. The FTSE techMARK 100 Index added 0.4% to 2,342.0, while the FTSE AIM 100 Index gained 1.5% to 3,057.2.
US markets ended higher last week, after nonfarm payrolls climbed more-than-expected in July, even as the jobless rate rose. The Dow Jones Index added 0.2% to 13,096.2, while the Nasdaq Index rose 0.3% to 2,967.9.
View the report in full
____________________________________________
Cambridge Index gains 2.2%
7 August 2012
Even though the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank refrained from introducing any immediate monetary easing, global equity markets registered gains during the week, as encouraging US employment data and positive corporate earnings from some European and US companies lifted market sentiment. The Cambridge Index rose 2.2% or 227.4 points to 10,709.3, with eight of the top ten index heavyweights recording healthy gains.