SOLO.L Share News (SOLO)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Wednesday.
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FTSE 100 WINNERS
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Ashtead Group, up 2.2%. The equipment rental company said it expects its full-year results to be above previous expectations, after a strong first-quarter performance in both its US and UK businesses, driven by new store openings and bolt-on acquisitions, continued into August. The company also increased its capital expenditure plans for the year as a whole, pledging to continue investing in organic growth thanks to the momentum it is seeing in the business. Ashtead reported a pretax profit of GBP117.5 million for the three months to July 31, up from GBP97.4 million a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP457.9 million, from GBP410.5 million.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Hargreaves Lansdown, down 4.2%. The retail stockbroker said it made a GBP209.8 million pretax profit in the year ended June 30, compared with GBP195.2 million in the corresponding period last year. Revenue increased to GBP358.4 million from GBP292.4 million, due to growth in complementary services such as stockbroking, fund management, discretionary management and pension drawdown services, the company said. However, according to Liberum, the company is facing severe margin pressure as a result of the recently implemented UK Retail Distribution Review.

Admiral Group, down 3.1%. The company has been had its rating cut by Barclays to Underweight, from Equal Weight.

BHP Billiton, down 1.1%. The company is amongst the fallers in the blue-chip index after going ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payouts.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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Just Eat, up 7%. The online takeaway ordering platform is the leading riser of the FTSE 250 after Jefferies initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and a price target of 450p saying the stock has the clearest valuation upside in the investment bank's UK digital peer group. The company trades at 288p.

AVEVA Group, up 2.7%. UBS has raised the company's rating to Buy, from Neutral, with a price target of 2,500p. The company trades at 2,140p

Vedanta Resources, up 2.1%. Deutsche Bank has raised the company's rating to Buy, from Hold, with a price target of 1,060p. The company trades at 1,083p.
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FTSE 250 LOSERS
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esure Group, down 3%, John Laing Infrastructure Fund, down 2.5%, Cineworld, down 1.9%, Micro Focus International, down 1.6%, Pheonix Group Holdings, down 1.4%, Carrillion, down 1.3%, Amlin, down 1.1%, and Michael Page International, down 1.1%. The companies are among the fallers in the mid-chip index after going ex-dividend.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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Nostra Terra Oil, up 14%. The oil and gas company said it has acquired the working interest in 6,100 net mineral acres in the White Buffalo Prospect for USD1.2 million from Ward Petroleum Corp. It said the potential fracking prospect is in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming and comprises several targets including the proven Phosphoria Formation. Up to 20 potential locations for horizontal wells with 4,500 foot laterals, are "possible" with recoverable potential of up to 13 million barrels of oil, according to Nostra Terra.

Solo Oil, up 11%. The company, amongst others, has a deal in place to take a stake in Horse Hill Developments Ltd, the operator of the Horse Hill conventional oil prospect near Gatwick airport in Surrey. Horse Hill Developments has begun drilling on the Horse Hill-1 well, the interested parties said Wednesday. Solo Oil has an agreement to own a direct 10% interest in the project.

Magnolia Petroleum, up 5.4%. The company said five wells it has interest in have begun production, and it has received a USD1.0 million payment for consulting services to an international company acquiring an oil and gas project in Oklahoma. The five wells and the international company have not been disclosed by Magnolia.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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API Group, off 13%. The manufacturer of specialist foils and packaging materials said it has downgraded its expectations as lower customer demand in its Foils America business continued into the current financial year. The division is now expected to post a loss for the full-year. The company said that its Foils Americas business has been impacted by a drop in demand from customers in the metallic pigment sector, which hit results in the second-half of its last financial year and has continued into the current financial year. It added that group expectations are being downgraded, with both first-half and full-year results behind those reported the previous year.
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By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com

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