PVCS.L Share News (PVCS)

Broker UBS thinks the share price of pay TV operator British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) has been buoyed by hopes of a bid from majority shareholder News Corporation, an event which the broker thinks is unlikely to happen.'Although it cannot be ruled out, we would question the timing and rationale for such a move,' UBS said in a note which announced its downgrading of BSkyB from 'buy' to 'neutral'.Reports in the press suggest that News Corp is contemplating launching a bid at 735p per share.UBS also has concerns about the outcome of the pay-TV industry review by Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. The watchdog is due to announce its findings at the end of March and UBS suggests that the amount Sky charges for its sports and film packages to third parties could be slashed by as much as a quarter, which would come as a surprise to most industry observers, who are expecting the charges to be reduced by only one fifth.If UBS's hunch proves correct that could dent BSkyB's 2011 earnings per share by 5%.Solar panel silicon wafer maker PV Crystalox Solar (PVC) has seen its share price more than halve since May 2009 and Nomura Securities thinks the decline has gone too far.'We reiterate our Buy rating as we see the stock as undervalued vs its peers given that we see upside from strong markets and an improving cost position,' Nomura analyst Catharina Saponar said.'We think PV Crystalox should continue to benefit from strong end markets, while it still has scope to pass through pricing pressure to its subcontractors and reduce its in-house operating costs via optimisation of consumables, procurement and operational yields,' Saponar reasons.'A 5% dividend yield with a payout strongly underpinned by the company's net cash position make the stock look attractive against its upstream and broader solar peers, in our view. Net cash is 30% of PVC's market cap,' Nomura noted.The decision by Novartis to halt a late-stage trial of Antisoma's lung cancer drug ASA404 has made KBC Peel Hunt wonder how long the Swiss drugs giant will stick by the British cancer specialist.On the bright side, KBC notes that Antosoma's AS1413 drug still offers value. 'We still see value in this programme and with results due later this year, we now see potential for Antisoma to secure a global partner for the drug, as we do not expect Antisoma will have the cash position to fund a US sale force alone,' KBC analyst Paul Cuddon said.The broker's share rating for Antisoma is under review following this latest reverse, while its target price is chopped to 33p from 70p on the assumption that ASA404 is a lost cause.'In the coming months we expect the company may become attractive as a potential takeover target. We remind investors that Gloucester Pharmaceuticals was acquired for $320m potentially rising to $640m, for a drug with similar commercial prospects as AS413,' KBC Peel Hunt concluded.