Numis Securities reissued its “Add” rating on DS Smith, down 0.2%, with a target price of 495p, while JPMorgan raised its target price on the stock to 500p from 475p and maintained its “Overweight” rating. Numis Securities downgraded its rating to “Hold” from “Add” on Greene King, down 2.2%, with a target price of 790p.
Sepura, up 30.4%, announced that the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has accepted the statutory undertakings set out by both the parties involved in the proposed acquisition by Hytera Communications Corporation Limited, after a public consultation. As a result, the company would not be referred to the Competition and Markets Authority for a further detailed investigation into the acquisition.
RhythmOne, up 9.6%, today announced that its annual revenues rose to $149m from $116.1m in the preceding year while its loss before tax narrowed to $14.9m from $77.2m. Numis Securities reiterated its “Buy” rating on the stock with a target price of 52p.
Horizon Discovery Group, up 1.5%, , announced that revenues in current and ongoing contract research services, product sales and R&D collaboration derived from the Immuno-Oncology platform during the year 2017 increased by around 40% to £1.5m, compared to the previous year. The company expects the platform will achieve significant growth for the financial year 2017, with the help of a strong current order book, including increasing orders for immunology-related target identification, validation and diagnostic reference standards. N+1 Singer reissued its “Buy” rating on the stock with a target price of 194p.
N+1 Singer reissued its “Hold” rating on Vernalis, down 2.7%, with a target price of 28p. JPMorgan reaffirmed its “Overweight” rating on Kier Group, down 3.6%, with a target price of 1639p. Panmure Gordon reiterated its “Buy” rating on Sphere Medical Holdings, down 5.1%, with a target price of 15p.
UK markets ended mostly higher in the last week led by a rally in energy sector stocks. The Bank of England (BoE) held its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.25% and reduced its growth prospects for the nation for the current year. The trade deficit widened more than market forecast in March, indicating that Brexit uncertainties have started to weigh on the economy. The FTSE 100 index climbed 1.9% to settle at 7,435.4, while the FTSE AIM 100 index added 0.9% to end at 4,819.2. However, the FTSE techMARK 100 index edged 0.1% lower to close at 4,345.
US markets closed in negative territory in the previous week, amid rising concerns over the efficiency of the business-friendly policies set by US President, Donald Trump. On the macro front, US surprisingly increased the number of jobs in March while the number of people claiming jobless benefits declined. However, US retail sales and consumer price index for April fell short of market forecasts. The DJIA index fell 0.5% to end at 20,896.6, while the NASDAQ index gained 0.3% to close at 6,121.2.
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