Monitise Share News (MONI)

When Marc Bolland takes the helm at Marks & Spencer early in May, he will be joining a retailer heading in the right direction. Tomorrow, M&S is expected to deliver a 1.7% increase in UK like-for-like sales for the quarter to 27 March, driven partly by the robust trade in winter clothing, boots and thermals during the prolonged cold snap. But headwinds are getting stronger. M&S's food and general merchandise (largely clothing) sales are both likely to run into difficulties from the next Government's measures to cut the public- sector deficit. Investors should look at M&S again next year when the consumer picture is clearer and we know what sort of revolution Mr Bolland may be planning. Sell suggests the Independent.Intertek tests the quality and safety of products for numerous companies across a range of sectors. As you might imagine, new rules and regulations, though a headache for some, are a plus for Intertek. The shares Intertek trade on an affordable multiple of 14.1 times forecasts for 2010, dropping to 12.4 times on the estimates for 2011. There is also the perennial rumours of bid interest from a Swiss rival, SGS. Buy says the Independent.Insurance broker Brightside yesterday reported a near-50% rise in pre-tax profits to £6.6m on turnover up 35% at £45m. The figures were expected (and priced in to the shares) but Brightside was also upbeat about the outlook, with 35,000 policies written in January, against 31,000 the previous year, a trend which has continued through February and March. It has the wind in its sails at the moment. Buy says the Independent.Building services group Connaught has had a rocky ride over the past few months and a bearish analyst's note released last week has triggered a strong reaction from the company's pugnacious management team. The core of the bear argument is that the company has significantly underperformed its peers in turning earnings into cash. Mark Tincknell, the chief executive, has derided the report as "fundamentally flawed". With shares trading on a lowly 7.5 times projected 2011 earnings, compared to a peer group average of 14, the stock looks undervalued. Yet with election uncertainty raising doubts about the level of spending on social housing, it looks best to hold for now, suggests the Times.Monitise, the company behind the Mobile Money service, has been a much slower burn than many investors would have expected since it split out of Morse, the IT services company, in 2007. However, it now has two million customers and is set to become a mass market service as smartphone sales continue to grow. The shares trade at ten times projected earnings for 2014, cheap compared with other smartphone-related stocks. With influential backers on board, investors could soon be in the mobile money. Buy says the Times.Endace's products are used to ensure the speed of networks for financial services and telecoms companies, as well as for monitoring purposes ? important for states considering national security. It issued a profit warning, its second wobble in recent times, and its shares slid accordingly. The jury is out over whether the contract slip is an isolated incident that will correct itself in the first quarter or a signal of something more significant. With solid end markets and the company still on a growth curve, it deserves the benefit of the doubt, but hold on for clarity in the meantime suggests the Times.Please note: Digital Look provides a round-up of news, tips and information that is impacting share prices and the market. Digital Look cannot take any responsibility for information provided by third parties. This is for your general information only as not intended to be relied upon by users in making an investment decision or any other decision. Please obtain a copy of the relevant publication and carry out your own research before considering acting on any of this information.