Kepler Capital Markets reissued its “Buy” rating on ARM Holdings, up 3.8%, with a target price of 1200p. Johnson Matthey, up 1.2%, announced that it is planning to cut nearly 70 jobs on Teesside as it is battling with challenging market conditions. Numis Securities reissued its “Add” rating on the stock with a target price of 2957p.
JPMorgan Chase reaffirmed its “Neutral” rating on AVEVA Group, up 2.1%, with a target price of 2450p and Panmure Gordon reissued its “Hold” rating on the stock with a target price of 1895p.
LPA Group, up 40.3%, announced that its trading for the second half of its financial year saw a significant improvement, following a tough first half. It anticipates its full-year results will outpace market expectations. It faced a problem on the fabrication capability of its electro-mechanical facility during the first half, which it has largely overcome. Order entry was strong over the course of the year, as the total order intake stood at a record level of £26.8m, while the order book at the end of the year was £18m. WH Ireland upgraded its rating on the stock to “Buy” with a target price of 92p.
Investec raised its target price on Dialight, up 4.9%, to 660p from 585p and maintained its “Hold” rating. Peel Hunt reiterated its “Add” rating on the stock with a target price of 600p.
Abcam, down 0.2%, announced in its AGM statement that its current financial year ending June 2016 started well and is on course to achieve its full year targets. JP Morgan Cazenove reiterated its “Neutral” rating on the stock with a target price of 558p and Stifel Nicolaus reissued its “Hold” rating..
Westhouse Securities reiterated its “Buy” rating on Kier Group, down 2%, with a target price of 2110p.. Xaar, down 6.4%, announced in its interim management statement that its sales in the year to date were mostly in line with expectations while it expects the 2015 full year revenues to be in the range of £92-£95m. In ceramic tile printing, its largest end application, monthly sales volumes were fairly consistent. However, it recently witnessed a drop in demand in China, which is the largest market for ceramic tiles. The group is in a better financial position as its net cash at 31 October 2015 stood at £66.9m compared to £58.6m as on 30 June 2015. The stock received mixed ratings from various brokers.
UK markets closed mostly higher last week, after the nation’s manufacturing output for September rose at its fastest pace since April 2014 while the trade deficit narrowed more than expected in September. The FTSE 100 index declined 0.1% to 6,353.8, while the FTSE AIM 100 Index rose 1.9% to finish at 3,464.4. The FTSE techMARK 100 Index edged 0.9% higher to settle at 3,789.2.
US markets ended firmer last week, following strong jobs data. The country’s unemployment rate fell to 5% which raised the chances of interest rate hike by the Fed in December. The DJIA index rose 1.4% to 17,910.3, while the NASDAQ Index advanced 1.8% to finish at 5,147.1.
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