SL..L Share News (SL.)

LONDON (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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Whitbread, up 1.9%. The owner of Premier Inn and Costa Coffee was boosted by an upgrade from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which raised its rating on the group to Buy, according to traders.

BAE Systems, up 1.6% to 528.00p. The defence contractor rose after it was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral by JPMorgan Cazenove, which also hiked its target price to 605 pence from 465p. Conversely in the defence sector, defence services company QinetiQ Group was down 2.9% in the FTSE 250 after JPMorgan Cazenove cut its rating on the group to Neutral from Overweight.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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St James's Place, down 1.1% to 911.00p. Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating on the wealth manager to Hold from Buy and cut its target price to 980p from 1,025p. The bank said the group faces significant risks from UK pension reform and widespread nervousness in equity markets, particularly given its higher proportion of high-net-worth customers than rivals such as Standard Life. Standard Life shares were up 1.2% after being upgraded to Buy from Hold by both Jefferies and Deutsche Bank on Monday and by HSBC on Friday.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Home Retail Group, up 8.5%. Several shareholders in the Argos and Homebase owner have demanded more than GBP1.6 billion for the business from J Sainsbury, the Sunday Times reported. According to the newspaper, the supermarket now faces an uphill struggle to acquire Home Retail, following news last week that it had made an offer for the company in November. The first offer was thought to have valued Home Retail at GBP1.1 billion, according to the report, which said three big shareholders told the Sunday Times they wanted at least GBP1.6 billion, compared to Home Retail's current market cap of GBP1.2 billion. With Sainsbury's likely to sell Homebase if it succeeds with its bid, the report said that homewares retailer Dunelm Group has held talks with private equity firms about buying the DIY chain and carving up its store estate. Sainsbury's shares were up 1.4%, while Dunelm shares were down 0.7%.

Laird, up 6.5%. The wireless components manufacturer could be a takeover target for US electronics group Amphenol, according to a report in The Sunday Telegraph. The newspaper said it understood Amphenol, which makes electronic and fibre optic connectors, cables and interconnector systems, has been running the rule over Laird. The process is at an early stage and may not ultimately lead to a bid, the Telegraph said, but Amphenol is understood to have been attracted by Laird's relative discount to peers.

Savills, up 4.9%. The real estate advisor said it saw a strong finish to 2015 and expects its underlying results will come in ahead of its expectations. Savills said some significant commercial deals for a number of businesses globally completed in the final months of the year, and it was boosted by its investment management unit completing the sale of its Potsdamer Platz assets in Berlin, meaning that unit had a stronger-than-expected end to the year.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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SSP Group, down 2.4%. The company, which operates food and drink concessions in travel hubs, was initiated with a Sell rating by UBS, which said the company is currently trading at multiples which are too high for the current point in the economic cycle. Though confident the company will deliver very solid growth in coming years, analyst Chris Stevens said at this point in the cycle, a lower multiple is warranted.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Rockhopper Exploration, up 14%, Falkland Oil & Gas, up 12%. Alongside partner Premier Oil, up 0.6%, the pair said they have made a new oil discovery whilst confirming a previous discovery after re-drilling one of their wells. Oil was encountered in "a number of sandstone reservoirs" between 2,564 and 2,861 metres at the Isobel Deep well, and the partners said no oil-water contacts were encountered. Further evaluation will now be required to calibrate the well with the existing 3D seismic in order to determine future plans and the extent of the discovered resource, the partners said.

Satellite Solutions Worldwide Group, up 11%. The satellite communications company said it has signed an agreement with BT Group to become one of the satellite broadband retail service providers under a new government scheme. The scheme, under which the government will roll-out subsidised satellite broadband services to homes and businesses in the UK, will see the government provide funding for the capital cost of the dish and modern equipment, connection fees and installation.
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By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance

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