BT Share News (BT.A)

Broker Hargreaves Lansdown said BT was 'firing on all cylinders' after the telecoms company forecast annual earnings at the top end of expectations.The broker's Richard Hunter said broadband demand, a strong performance outside the UK and BT's new sport channels had combined to produce "an impressive trinity of growth" in revenue, earnings per share and profit.Diageo's share price was under continued selling pressure on Friday with Goldman Sachs removing the stock from its 'conviction buy' list after a weak first half underwhelmed investors the day before.The bank downgraded the Guinness and Smirnoff maker to 'neutral', saying that the shares are now "fairly valued".Investec has reduced its target price for Royal Dutch Shell after the oil firm's recent profit warning and kept a 'hold' rating saying that its new strategy seems 'unambitious'."Shell's recent share price performance suggests that investors may be falling in love with the oil major all over again. [...] But the seeming stickiness of the capex budget, the unambitious disposal programme and the general absence of targets are just not our type."Premier Farnell's shares were suffering steep losses despite a decent pick-up in growth in the fourth quarter, with Jefferies highlighting pressures on margin progression at the web and technology group.The broker maintained its 'buy' rating and 250p target price, but cut its earnings per share (EPS) forecast for next year by 10% to 14.3p.Panmure Gordon has reiterated its 'buy' rating and 390p target price for financial services group Paragon, saying that the company made progress across the board in the first quarter."Progress was clear on all fronts including increased mortgage originations, Idem Capital investing more, progress on the banking licence, and increased funding," said Analyst Keith Baird.BC