The AA shares skid 7pc as price target is chopped

SHARES in roadside assistance group AA stalled after a negative broker’s note.

Barclays said that it was lowering its target price from 270p to 200p. That proved bad news for AA and yesterday it saw its shares reverse 6.8pc, or 11.15p, to 154p.

Brick maker Ibstock saw sales surge as rivals in the UK were unable to meet a rise in demand in 2017. While some manufacturers have been reducing their stock levels, Ibstock has commissioned a new plant in Leicestershire which will increase its capacity by around 13pc – allowing it to make around 100m more bricks each year.

But a weak pound and competitive market meant revenue in the US dipped, sending shares down 2.1pc, or 5.6p, to 257.2p.

The FTSE 100 eased off 0.32pc, or 24.47 points, to 7700.96. The only sector in the black yesterday was financials, with Hargreaves

Lansdown one of the leading risers. Shares in the firm rose 4.3pc, or 79.5p, to 1919.5p after brokers at Barclays upgraded their target price on the stock.

Investors were bowled over by progress at Ten Entertainment since its stock market float in September. The bowling lane operator said sales in the second half of 2017 soared 12.5pc with earnings for the year likely to be at the top end of expectations.

It added three new sites to its portfolio and said refurbishments and acquisitions were proving to be a good formula. Shares leapt 0.8pc, or 2p, to 265p.

Babcock shares heated up as it announced a contract win worth £160m. The engineering services firm will provide an aerial firefighting service for the Italian Ministry of Interior. The four-year deal starts next month and could be extended by another four years, which would double the value of the contract to £ 320m. That wasn’t enough to keep shares out of hot water, however – they dropped 1.7pc, or 13p, to 738p.

Imperial Brands investors were disappointed as it said changes to US tax legislation would bring little benefit. The US has slashed corporation tax from 35pc to 21pc, but the tobacco company said the actual benefit to the overall effective tax rate it pays would be less than 1pc. Shares lost 1.8pc, or 55p, to 3017.5p. Sports nutrition outfit Science

in Sport has teamed up with Manchester United. An agreement running until May 2021 will see it provide a performance nutritionist to the club and give the team access to its sports gels and products. Shares gained 5.6pc, or 4p, to 75.5p. Challenger Acquisitions has invested more than £200,000 in a new giant observation wheel in Dallas. The Eye of Texas should be 165 metres high when complete – compared to 125 metres for the London Eye – and the site is expected to include an entertainment complex and improvements to mass transport.

Challenger’s shares have come off from more than 10p a year ago. Yesterday they gained 8.3pc, or 0.05p, to 0.65p. Fresh prepared food provider

Bakkavor reported a 4.6pc increase in revenue for 2017. Its full year results – due at the end of February – are expected to be in line with expectations.

The group, which operates in the UK, US and China, supplies products including sandwiches, salads and ready meals to retailers, as well as companies such as Starbucks and Pizza Hut. Shares fell 1.4pc, or 2.8p, to 197p. Telephony software firm Cloudcall revealed revenue rose 41pc year- on-year in 2017 while user numbers climbed 45pc to 23,500.

The Aim-listed firm expects fullyear revenue of £6.9m. Shares climbed 17pc, or 15.5p, to 165.5p.