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Vectura Group: Numis downgrades to add with a target price of 135p.

While a 2014 PE ratio of 19 looks high, this drops to 15 in 2015 and also represents a discount to the 23 times 2014 rating of Marshall's shares, which actually has lower growth forecasts to Breedon. Underlying profits in the first half were already up 69 per cent and the business is backed by hard-to-come-by assets. What's more, there is considerable potential for broker upgrades due to the sensitivity of the business to any pick-up in its end markets and further earnings-enhancing acquisitions. True, there is no dividend on offer, but at this stage in the cycle (the bottom, hopefully) it makes sense for Breedon to focus on paying down debt to help finance expansion.....As always dyor good luck

The Scottish acquisition caught the eye of the Office of Fair Trading, but analysts at Cenkos reckon the worst-case scenario would entail the disposal of a quarry in Aberdeen and two or three ready-mix plants, which could result in some form of writedown if Breedon became a forced seller. On the plus side, though, management has really proved its credentials as a canny purchaser with its two deals. Broker Peel Hunt marked up its earnings estimates by a hearty 11 per cent for 2014 and 12 per cent for 2015 on the back of the acquisitions. What's more, the strengthening balance sheet (Peel Hunt predicts net debt will be below £30m by 2015) means there is the potential for more earnings-enhancing acquisitions in the future. The real cherry on the cake for Breedon, though, will be a recovery in the construction market. A recovery should bring the double whammy of improving volumes and prices and, due to a largely fixed cost base, this could send profits soaring. Peel Hunt estimates that between 30 and 60 per cent of revenue will drop through to cash profits, depending on the product mix. And prospects for the construction market look good, with the most recent government spending review outlining a pipeline of infrastructure investments worth £100bn between 2015 and 2020. Meanwhile, in Scotland work on the £750m Aberdeen ring road is expected to start early next year, and a £3bn upgrade of the A9 is planned over the next 12 years

Canny acquisitions, self-help and improving conditions in the construction market are leading to predictions of explosive earnings growth at heavy materials sector consolidator Breedon Aggregates (BREE). Breedon is the largest independent aggregates business in the UK, owning 37 quarries, 22 asphalt plants and 48 concrete batching plants in England and Scotland. Total mineral reserves now stand at nearly 400m tonnes, which is enough to keep it going for 76 years at current output levels. Crucially, these outlets are dotted all around the country, which is a major competitive advantage because delivering aggregate any great distance is an expensive business. And supply is severely restricted as no significant licences for new quarries have been issued for at least 25 years. It has always been the objective of Breedon's management to grow the company by consolidating the largely fragmented aggregates industry through acquisitions. There had been hopes of making a large purchase of assets that were put up for sale as a condition of the merger between Lafarge and Tarmac. However, the price was not quite right, and Breedon had the courage to walk away. Waiting to buy bottom-of-the-cycle assets at the right price has proved a shrewd move. Breedon made two acquisitions in May for a total of £51.5m. These comprised four quarries and an option on a fifth from landscape group Marshalls and 11 quarries, 7 ready-mix plants, four asphalt plants and two concrete block facilities in Scotland bought from Aggregate Industries - now part of Holcim. The two acquisitions were paid for through a share placing of 290.4m shares, which raised a net £58.7m.

At a forward PE ratio of 7, 32Red's shares are well below a two-year historic average rating of closer to 12 and look extremely cheap compared with the rest of the gaming sector, especially peers with more widely extending operations in markets such as the US and Australia. However, there is enough room for smaller operators to grow in the market and, in the final analysis, smaller scale often means shareholders see the benefits from operational gains far more quickly.......As always dyor good luck.

The most noticeable feature of 32Red's operations is that the company looks relatively cheap to run. In the first half new casino players cost an average of £159 to acquire, compared with £166 at the same stage last year. When a yield per player of £398 is taken into account, it is clear that 32Red is currently achieving some of the highest margin rates on each new player in the sector. This has been helped by investment in customer relationship management (CRM) to target offers more effectively and help to reactivate lapsed players. And importantly 32Red only develops business in regulated markets. That may slow growth rates, but it adds certainty to prospects as many countries, including the US, have cracked down on so-called "grey area" operators. Nevertheless a regulatory downside exists due to the UK government's unresolved threat to impose point-of-consumption tax on Gibraltar-based firms. This might significantly cut profitability, although management reckons it can pass some of the extra costs on to the company's affiliates - the agents who take a fee for attracting customers - and games providers. The company also needs to integrate smartphones fully into the business, although there are some regulatory hurdles to this in Italy, for instance, which management is currently lobbying to change. Share tip summary

The gaming market has seen its share of change and upheaval over the past few months as companies jostle to establish themselves in rapidly regulating markets in Europe and the US. This has led to some wildly varied valuations for gaming companies, particularly those with partnerships in the US, and leaves behind the definite impression that the market is backing the wrong horses ('Gaming: Westward, look, the land is bright', 6 Sep 2013). In contrast to chasing the American dream, investors might find it more profitable to look for opportunities closer to home, or at least as far as Gibraltar, for the regulated gaming growth that is driving the market. In this context, Gibraltar-based 32Red (TTR) is starting to show clear evidence that its expansion plans and relatively cost-effective approach to acquiring gaming customers is starting to bear fruit. Yet its shares still offer an attractive yield while trading on a derisory multiple of earnings. The key to 32Red's future success will be how quickly the company can diversify its revenues away from the UK market, where it has a 4 per cent share. An expansion into Italy may offer the first proof that the strategy can work. The Italian venture - the company now has Bologna FC as a casino partner - has grown more slowly than expected due to high set-up costs and the country's fragile economy. However, with the economic squeeze beginning to lift, and 32Red's advertising and marketing programme beginning in earnest after a summer hiatus, the rate of growth should improve when a greater number of games are available.

It was good to see the uk back in profit again looks to have turned the corner.........

At 141p, Evraz's share price has recovered modestly since publication of its half-year figures, but we believe that it could lose ground through the remainder of 2013 given the risk that long-run steel demand fails to pick up and the potential for the group to resort to another equity issue. Based on Bloomberg consensus forecast data, the group now trades at a 19 per cent premium to peers on an EV/EBIT basis, against an historic discount of 16 per cent, while Goldman Sachs recently downgraded its recommendation to sell from neutral, slashing its price target from 340p to 109p a share.......But time will tell here best of luck all.

The group could conceivably pare back a portion of its debt by hiving off non-core segments of the business. Evraz recently decided to temporarily suspend operations at its underperforming Palini e Bertoli's plate mill in Italy, and has confirmed that it's working with a potential buyer on the due diligence process for its troubled South African subsidiary, EVRAZ Highveld Steel and Vanadium. There's currently $916m in assets held for sale on EVRAZ's balance sheet, including the operations of Czech subsidiary Vitkovice Steel, but there's a possibility that the group might be forced to accept offers well short of the existing valuations. This point was borne out by the recent sale of its Russian subsidiary, Tsentralnaya TETs; a power generator with gross assets of $16.4m, which went for a token sum after incurring an interim loss of $9m. Despite the high hopes of management, it's hardly a seller's market. Evraz could conceivably trade its way out of these problems, but the current outlook both for volumes and prices does not instill confidence. Steel demand across the EU remains weak despite some early signs of recovery, while low-cost imports from China continue to depress prices for Russian mills. The outlook for domestic industrial demand is little better, with Central Bank forecasts for Russian industrial growth in 2013 slipping from 2 per cent to 0.7 per cent.

Roman Abramovich's Evraz (EVR), in common with fellow Russian steelmaker Severstal, has endured a tough trading environment over the past year, mirrored by a halving of the share price over the period. During the first quarter, we thought that the group's fortunes were set to improve on the back of early signs of recovery in Russian industrial demand. In the event, this recovery proved to be illusory, and with a $7bn (£4.4bn) debt overhang and constraints on free cash flow, the shares could drift lower on negative valuations - even from the current depressed rating. A plunge in steel prices and a consequential share price slump resulted in Evraz being relegated from the FTSE 100 midway through June. This effectively removed any influence of blue-chip tracker funds, in addition to clouding market sentiment. Evraz is one of several Russian/CIS companies that have made their way onto the UK benchmark index, only to attract criticism due to a narrow free float - about one-quarter of the shares - and the undue influence of majority shareholders, although it certainly isn't in the same bracket as the likes of ENRC in terms of its reputation for corporate governance. Admittedly, shares in Evraz rallied on release of its recent half-year report, despite the fact that cash profits were down by a fifth to $939m and a decision was made to can the half-year dividend. The group felt that a payout was unjustified given that the half-year loss per share had more than doubled to 7¢. The reallocated funds will help to cover the group's $1.6bn short-term debt. The good news for shareholders is that the group largely managed to keep a lid on costs through the period, while reducing capital expenditure by 12.9 per cent to $492m. However, it's unlikely that the group will be able to free up its cash inflows despite progress in trimming costs. Analysts are now predicting that Evraz may be forced to tap the market again if it chooses to pay down borrowings, or if it decides to resume dividend payments through this year and next. Evraz certainly has form in this regard. In 2009, it issued shares and convertible bonds to bolster its balance sheet, when debt levels were broadly comparable. The implied multiple of cash profits to net debt now stands at 3.75 - just shy of the level that normally sets alarm bells ringing. At least Evraz's debt existing covenants are largely administered by state-controlled entities, so presumably there's a degree of leeway on offer. (The covenants are breached when net debt exceeds cash profits by a multiple of three or more).

Elsewhere online retail phenomenon ASOS (ASC) continues to blaze a trail, reporting a 47% rise in total retail sales for the 3 months to the end of August, reaching 40% for the full year. Sales to the EU rocketed by 73% in the final quarter, while gross margins also improved. Full year profits are expected to be slightly ahead of expectations.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) will be releasing its trading statement on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs has raised its target price from 695p to 780p, but still recommends selling. In July of this year, Viscount Rothermere moved to take full control of the publisher of the UK’s Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers by seeking to buy out outstanding voting shares from his uncle and other holders. In its latest set of half-year results, DMGT reported that group revenues fell 6% to £915m in the six months to the end of March, although pre-tax profit at the publisher rose 30% to £137m. Unless there are any surprises, along with most broker views, the reaction from the markets looks likely to stay neutral.

Jamie moving up nicely now hope you got in mate....................morning langyy

Agree a few more buys and this will push up nicely imho......

Nice to get back to the 1p mark.....onwards and upwards

Booker Group: Investec shifts target price from 141p to 146p and reiterates a buy recommendation.

BHP Billiton: Nomura reduces target price from 2400p to 2200p, while its buy recommendation remains unchanged.

ASOS: Canaccord Genuity increases target price from 3400p to 6200p and upgrades to buy.