Next Share News (NXT)

Financial services group Matrix highlights the weak sales figures at Next as atypical of the sector and places the target price for the high street fashion chain under review.For the five months to 24 December, the group blamed its poor sales on bad weather and poor availability of best selling lines, but the broker suggests that it "looks like poor judgement rather than bad luck." Retail sales were down 6.1% but Directory sales were up 8.7%. "We have consistently valued Next at a 15% discount to the general retail sector to "reflect the company's lack of sales growth potential," says analyst Tom Gadsby.While its full-year earnings per share forecast remains unchanged at 215p, the broker places the target price of 2,077p under review and places the group in its 'reduce' category.Domino's Pizza's fourth quarter sales exceeded Peel Hunt's forecasts, as the group dealt with the snow disruption better than expected.The pizza delivery firm saw like-for-like (LFL) sales in the final period grow by 10.3% whereas the broker expected the bad weather to produce a figure lower than third quarter LFL of 9.9%.Analyst Paul Hickman says Domino's still justifies its high rating of 28 times projected 2011 earnings. "We regard Domino's as one of the best managed marketing-led operations in the UK today and a core holding for any consumer-facing investment portfolio."Profit and earnings figures are revised upwards, as the broker confirms a 'buy' rating and 600p target price. While Panmure Gordon (PG) highlights Jardine Lloyds Thompson's (JLT) strong performance in 2010, the broker notes that the recent run in the shares reflects "misplaced speculation" that the company will receive a bid from a larger rival.The insurance broker's shares have grown 30% in absolute terms over the last year, partly due to - the broker says - the rumours that JLT might be acquired by one of its larger peers (Marsh, Aon or Willis).However, due to the long term key shareholding of 30% by Jardine Matheson (JM), dating back to the 1970s, analyst Barrie Cornes thinks an acquisition seems "extremely unlikely."While PG remains confident that JLT will meet its 2010 profit forecast, the broker downgrades its rating from a 'buy' to a 'hold' and "expect[s] the shares to at best tread water until the prelims on 1 March 2011."The target price is placed at 623p.