easyJet Share News (EZJ)

AstraZeneca rose on the back of better-than-expected revenue growth of three per cent in the first quarter, driven by the pharmaceutical company's diabetes franchise. Shares were up despite earnings falling more than expected. AstraZeneca's share price surged earlier this week on speculation it could be susceptible to a takeover bid from Pfizer.The news helped peers Smith & Nephew and Shire higher, which were also rising on readacross from the US, where medical device maker Zimmer Holdings is set to buy Biomet in a deal worth $13.35bn. Diversified miner Anglo American was making decent gains after impressing with production increases ahead of expectations across the board. Espirito Santo reiterated its 'neutral' rating on the stock. easyJet climbed on the back of a target price increase from Morgan Stanley, which also gave the stock an 'overweight' rating. It said: "We forecast a 3% yield in 2015 in a sector where we expect few carriers to deliver a payout." The bank also issued an upbeat statement about IAG, saying the pre-Easter sell-off was "aggressive" with the group dropping 15% in 10 days, "despite no company specific newsflow or signs of changes to IAG earnings drivers". It continued: "After a first quarter of underperformance, and indeed negative year to date performance versus 20%-45% at peers, we see grounds for investor sentiment to turn positive from here into May 9th first quarter earnings. Free cashflow yield on our 2015 estimate is a healthy 16% post capital expenditure and in a year when we expect IAG to initiate a dividend payout." Meanwhile, building materials supplier Travis Perkins fell sharply despite a strong first-quarter report, which is most likely due to profit taking. Consumer goods giant Unilever signalled an upturn in Europe in its first quarter, but said growth was slowing in emerging markets as it reported a 6.3% fall in turnover to €11.4bn due to currency headwinds, causing shares to drop.Hammerson fell after HSBC downgraded the real estate investment trust from 'overweight' to 'neutral'.Associated British Foods retreated from yesterday's strong gains which came after the company announced its intention to expand its fast-growing Primark brand into the US towards the end of next year. FTSE 100 - RisersAstraZeneca (AZN) 4,206.50p +4.06%Shire Plc (SHP) 3,295.00p +3.32%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 904.00p +2.79%easyJet (EZJ) 1,722.00p +2.14%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 415.90p +2.11%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,437.00p +2.06%Mondi (MNDI) 1,016.00p +1.96%Anglo American (AAL) 1,575.50p +1.84%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,984.00p +1.80%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,216.00p +1.59%FTSE 100 - FallersTravis Perkins (TPK) 1,792.00p -2.18%Unilever (ULVR) 2,577.00p -2.16%Hammerson (HMSO) 573.50p -1.21%Fresnillo (FRES) 843.00p -1.17%Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,928.00p -1.15%William Hill (WMH) 331.30p -1.13%Sports Direct International (SPD) 790.00p -0.88%Ashtead Group (AHT) 870.00p -0.80%Pearson (PSON) 1,049.00p -0.66%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,672.00p -0.60%NR