Gloomy analysts send Aston Martin into reverse MARKET REPORT
AFTER an already torrid year, the last thing Aston Martin must want to hear now is that it should be more like its arch-rival Porsche.
But that’s exactly what analysts at Credit Suisse have said about the car maker. They warn that it is too dependent on the UK and would improve if it had a better spread of sales across the world – like those of its more diversified German peer.
Turning sour on the company behind James Bond’s favourite marque, Credit Suisse downgraded its rating to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform’ after a recent profit warning and slashed the target price on its stock by more than two-thirds to 529p.
That made grim reading for a firm that floated at 1900p ten months ago and has only seen its value crumble since then.
Added to this, the Financial Times reported hedge funds have taken record short positions in the company by buying up its debt. This and Credit Suisse’s bearish take sent shares down 4pc, or 20.2p, to 490.8p – meaning its stock has now fallen by 60pc since the start of this year.
It was a better day for online trading platform Plus 500, which has been hammered in the past year by regulatory crackdowns on the high-risk trades it offers and more stable stock markets.
Investors were able to see past the fact that it reported a morethan 80pc plunge in pre-tax profit, coming in at £53m, and a 68pc fall in sales to £123m between January and June.
Shareholders instead focused on a slew of more positive updates, including Plus 500 sticking to its guidance for the full year, adding new customers, revealing plans to hand more cash back to shareholders and to buy back up to £41m worth of shares. Shares rose 20.8pc, or 118.6p, to 690p.
The headline UK stock market indexes ended the day up after the US said it would delay tariffs on a range of Chinese products. Relieved traders sent the FTSE
100 up 0.3pc, or 24.18 points, to 7250.90. The FTSE 250 rose 0.5pc, or 95.18 points, to 19,008.18.
Retailer Card Factory rang up higher half-year sales despite a weaker Father’s Day quarter as fewer customers hit the high street. Like-for-like sales rose 1.5pc in the six months to July 31. It has taken extra costs for stockpiling ahead of the October 31 Brexit deadline as it puts in place contingency plans.
It did not give details on stockbuilding, but said in April that it had bought in extra goods amid concerns over ports disruption. Wannabe fertiliser miner Sirius
Minerals jumped 17pc, or 1.38p, to 9.5p in an impressive rebound. It had dipped after it said it would delay fundraising a £415m bond because it is worried the market isn’t trading well enough.
The share price leap could show that investors are more optimistic that the bond raise will be successful – building its mammoth mine in Yorkshire is contingent on raising the funds, after all.
Revenue at housing and care services specialist Mears Group was boosted by its acquisition of Mitie’s social housing arm, MPS, in November for £35m.
Its turnover rose 10pc to £481m, while pre-tax profit fell 3pc compared with the same period last year, coming in at £12.5m. Mears fell 0.4pc, or 1p, to 270p. On AIM, brand franchiser Franchise Brands rose 5.7pc, or 4.75p, to 88.25p, after non-executive director David Poutney bought 28,090 shares for £23,315.
And shares in mobile commerce company Bango rose 9.4pc, or 11.5p, to 134.5p after it entered a partnership with Spotify to allow operators to sell subscriptions to the music streaming service with phone plans.