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(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Taylor Wimpey, up 2.8%. Peel Hunt raised the housebuilder to Add from Hold.
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Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up 2.1%. The drugmaker said it has signed an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement with Italian pharma firm Chiesi Farmaceutici. The agreement provides Hikma with exclusive rights to commercialise 11 of Chiesi's products in Egypt, including currently marketed and pipeline products. Hikma noted this agreement builds on the existing partnership between the pair in Morocco.
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Halma, up 2.0%. Goldman Sachs raised the smoke detector maker to Buy from Neutral.
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Centrica, up 1.8%. UBS raised the British Gas parent to Buy from Neutral.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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St James's Place, down 1.0%. Credit Suisse downgraded the wealth manager to Underperform from Neutral.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Spirent Communications, up 16%. The telecommunications network testing firm said it was able to continue its good momentum into the fourth quarter of 2019 and expects full-year profit to exceed market expectations. Spirent said it was able to secure a number of "important" contract wins in the final three months of 2019, resulting in 2019 total group revenue rising by 5.5% versus the year before to USD503 million. The company also expects its adjusted operating profit to be between USD91 million and USD93 million - which would represent a rise of between 18% and 21% on the USD77.1 million reported in 2018. "Over the medium term we expect to continue to deliver mid-single digit revenue growth with a focus on increasing recurring revenue streams to enhance the group's visibility and effective investment in our technical platforms to drive ongoing performance," Chief Executive Eric Updyke said.
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Pennon Group, up 7.5%. The Daily Telegraph reported that the water company's Viridor waste management arm is set to be put up for sale. Citing "City sources", the newspaper said Pennon rejected a bid from US private equity fund KKR early in 2019 that was an attempt to jump-start the sale process for Viridor. Now, banks Morgan Stanley and Barclays have been appointed to run the process at a valuation for Viridor of GBP4 billion, the newspaper said.
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Savills, up 5.6%. The estate agent said its annual performance will be at the upper end of expectations due to an "excellent" performance in the UK, significant growth in the US and a strong performance from the Savills Investment Management arm. Savills said despite challenges such as Brexit, and political unrest in Hong Kong contributing to lower volumes of activity, "the strength of Savills positions in both markets contributed to a resilient performance through increased market share". Savills Investment Management also performed ahead of expectations, benefiting from performance fees on "certain products". Looking to the year ahead, Savills noted global investor demand for secure income, restricted supply and expectations of continued low interest rates suggests that the medium and long term dynamics of the UK real estate market should remain largely positive.
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Avast, up 3.5%. JPMorgan upgraded the antivirus software maker to Overweight from Neutral.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Just Group, down 2.6%. Credit Suisse cut the retirement financial products provider to Underperform from Neutral.
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Mitchells & Butlers, down 2.2%. JPMorgan downgraded the pub and restaurant operator to Neutral from Overweight.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Verona Pharma, up 53%. The pharmaceutical company said its Phase 2b clinical trial of nebulized Ensifentrine met its primary endpoint. The four-week Phase 2b trial of the drug in moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients improved lung function at week four of the treatment. In the trial, the drug was administered twice daily in combination with tiotropium, a treatment used in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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City Pub, down 9.1%. The pub operator warned profit will miss market expectations due to "subdued" trading over the key Christmas period. In its financial year ended December 29, the southern England and Wales-focused pub owner said it performed well, with revenue rising 31% to GBP59.8 million. Like-for-like sales were up 1.7%, and City Pub Group said it is pleased with this performance. However, a number of one-off factors in the last quarter of its year held back fourth-quarter performance. As a result, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation for the year is now expected to be slightly below market expectations, between GBP9.1 million and GBP9.2 million. This would still be an approximate 15% rise year-on-year. City Pub also said the 2018 festive season was a very strong one, providing a tough comparable for the recently ended season.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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