(Sharecast News) – London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,468.41 in afternoon trade on Friday.
JD Sports surged as Berenberg lifted its price target on the stock to 225p from 210p and named the retailer its “top pick” in the sector, as it said the recent slump in the share price has created an attractive entry point.
Berenberg noted that since the initial excitement about the company at the time of its capital markets day in February, the shares have fallen by nearly 30% due to macro uncertainties, peer warnings and perceived execution risks.
“This looks harsh to us, as consensus earnings have continued to rise, and we think risks are lower than the market fears,” it said. “We also think investors still underappreciate the strength of JD’s model, its positioning and the international opportunity.”
The bank said JD offers “extreme value” for the quality and growth on offer, looking cheap against every peer group.
Next was also in the black after an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Societe Generale.
Spirax-Sarco gained after JPMorgan lifted its target price for the shares, saying that the engineering group’s recent share-price weakness has been unwarranted.
The bank upped its target price for the shares from 11,300p to 11,500p and maintained an ‘overweight’ position on the stock.
Melrose Industries was the standout loser, having rallied on Thursday after it upgraded its annual outlook as it said trading had been ahead of expectations, partly due to higher-than-expected margins at the engines division.
FTSE 100 – Risers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 139.10p 3.61%
GSK (GSK) 1,420.00p 2.29%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,007.00p 2.23%
Beazley (BEZ) 549.00p 1.95%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,037.00p 1.80%
Entain (ENT) 1,147.50p 1.50%
Next (NXT) 7,094.00p 1.46%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 10,015.00p 1.35%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,192.00p 1.33%
Rightmove (RMV) 567.80p 1.32%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 509.40p -5.17%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,002.00p -3.04%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 225.20p -2.43%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 220.50p -1.47%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,290.00p -1.38%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 290.10p -1.33%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 112.00p -1.15%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,792.00p -1.13%
BT Group (BT.A) 112.95p -0.92%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 73.27p -0.88%
