Next Share News (NXT)

Credit Suisse has downgraded its rating for natural gas giant BG Group from 'outperform' to 'neutral', saying that the market has yet to full appreciate the transitional challenges that the group faces in the upstream cycle."We are particularly concerned about the key area of growth - Brazil - given its importance to value and the well-known supply chain issues in the local market." Credit Suisse says that near-term cash flow in Brazil is burdened and the balance sheet is being stretched.The broker's target price is cut from 1,660p to 1,500p.UBS has raised its target price for High Street fashion and homeware retailer Next from 3,250p to 3,500p and reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock ahead of its second-quarter results."We believe Next may have escaped the worst impact of the weather in Q2. Budgets and stock levels are traditionally kept tight, Directory may have benefitted from the weather and (although unquantifiable) stock shortages at the market leader may also have helped," UBS said in a research note on Thursday.While shares of car and bike parts retailer Halfords jumped on Thursday morning, Investec has slashed its target price from 310p to 225p.Halfords Retail sales fell by 7.5% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis in the first quarter, which Investec labelled as "in line, albeit weak". The uncertain backdrop lead the group to cut its pre-tax profit guidance to £62-70m, compared with consensus estimates of £76m.The broker said: "FY13E looks set to be tough, and clearly a change of CEO adds an element of uncertainty to the business. However, the strategy is unchanged, cash generation remains strong, supporting our unchanged dividend forecast, and early feedback from the three Lab stores has been 'encouraging'."Investec has retained its 'buy' recommendation for the stock.BC