Member Info for jange

Anite: Panmure Gordon moves target price from 163p to 165p; buy recommendation kept. Canaccord Genuity raises target price from 143p to 169p and maintains a buy recommendation.

Investec has hiked its price target for travel group TUI Travel from 170p to 270p following the group's full-year results announced on Monday morning. The broker said that TUI "performed well" in the year to September 30th, as it benefitted from strong operations, negative competitor publicity, supportive wet weather in Northern Europe and negligible disruptions (air traffic/crew strikes, inclement destination weather, geopolitical issues).

Credit Suisse has reiterated its 'outperform' rating for mining giant Rio Tinto, saying that the group's cost determination is impressive. The broker has upgraded its earnings forecasts for this year and the next by 5% and 13%, respectively, on the back of cost savings, higher copper volumes and mineral sands earnings.

Investec has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation and 247p target price for conference and exhibition organiser ITE Group after the company managed to beat forecasts in a tough year. Full-year profit before tax and earnings per share (EPS) were slightly ahead of estimates, Investec said, in spite of "acquisition consolidation, Mosbuild [its construction event] competition and biennial negative skew." On the back of the full-year 'beat' and positive outlook, the broker has raised its EPS forecasts of 2-3%. The market reaction to the results on Tuesday was bullish, with shares up 8.47% at 213.9p before the close. Analyst Steve Liechti said: "Shares de-rated on adverse FX, but look attractive given B2B exhibition growth/strategic positioning." He said that the valuation - the stock is trading at 11.4 times current-year earnings - is now at the low end versus its B2B peers.

information and communications technology group Datatec warned it is unlikely to reach its forecasts for the year ending February 2013 after a weaker than expected third quarter performance from Westcon. "Since the group published its half year results on October 17th 2012, Westcon's trading in Q3 has been slower than expected and comparatively lower than the same period last year," it said in a trading update. "Continued weak conditions in Europe, business disruption in North America due to hurricane Sandy and lower than expected Federal business have negatively affected trading so far in the second half." On a brighter note, Logicalis continues to trade strongly and in line with expectation. However demand in the consulting services division has weakened in the second half. The group's published forecasts for the financial year ending February 28th 2013 are for revenues of between $5.5bn and $5.8bn, profit after tax of roughly $104m, underlying earnings per share of approximately 55 US cents and earnings and headline earnings per share of approximately 50 US cents. Datatec will issue its next interim management statement mid-January 2013 which will include an updated forecast for the financial year to February 28th 2013 and encompass key December trading period.

Chairman Nick Paul said: "We have delivered a strong set of half year results demonstrating continued improvements in operating margins, strong cash generation has led to a considerably strengthened balance sheet and we have made encouraging progress in establishing our manufacturing facility in China. This, alongside the pipeline of opportunities for new business positions us well for further growth.." While Paul admitted that, in the shorter term, the softening in markets seen is likely to continue into the second half, investors didn't seem too bothered, with shares up 6.47% at 18.10p by 15:40.

AIM-listed tube manufacturer Tricorn surged on Monday following the release of its interim results, in which it reported a decent increase in the half-year dividend. The company, which operates in three main segments - Energy & Utilities, Transportation and Aerospace - is to pay shareholder 0.1p per share in respect of its first-half performance, up 43% on the 0.7p a share paid out last year. Revenue in the six months to the end of September fell from £12.42m to £11.55m as a result of "softening markets" in the second quarter. Nevertheless, improvements in operating profit margins across all three businesses helped group pre-tax profit grow from £0.72m to £0.85m. Tricorn said that its plan to establish a manufacturing facility in China is "on track" and shipments of first products are expected later this month.

strange one director sells 100.000 and another one buy's 100.000......

City of London Investment Group (CLIG) Director name: Mr Douglas F Allison Amount sold: 100,000 @ 255.00p Value: £255,000

Next (NXT) Director name: Mr Andrew John Varley Amount sold: 10,000 @ 3,648.00p Value: £364,800

Global Energy Development (GED) Director name: Mr Stephen C Voss Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 105.00p Value: £26,250

Picton Property Income Ltd (PCTN) Director name: Mr Roger Lewis Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 36.75p Value: £36,750

F&C Asset Management (FCAM) Director name: Mr Edward Bramson Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 98.61p Value: £98,610

City of London Investment Group (CLIG) Director name: Mr Barry M Olliff Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 255.00p Value: £255,000

Top Director Buys TVC Holdings (TVCH) Director name: Mr Shane Reihill Amount purchased: 450,000 @ 67.16p Value: £302,220

Shane Rehill, the Executive Chairman of TVC Holdings invested 300k in the AIM-listed investment company, the company announced on Monday. Rehill purchased 450,000 shares at a price of €0.83 each (around 67.16p) on Friday of last week, spending a total of £302,220. The transaction took his total stake in the company's total issued share capital to 27.09m shares, equal to a 26.8% interest. TVC reported its interim results a few weeks earlier in which it unveiled a fall in first-half profit before tax from €3.8m last year to €2.8m in the six months to September 30th. The gross portfolio return fell to €3.5m from €4.5m in the same period the year before. However, the net asset value per share improved from €1.14 at the start of the financial year (March 31st) to €1.16 at the half-year stage. Speaking on November 13th, Rehill said: "We continue to work actively with our core portfolio investments to maximise their value and this is reflected in another set of strong results for the company."

Goldman Sachs has upgraded its rating for French luxury firm LVMH to 'buy' from 'neutral', explaining that the stock has underperformed the rest of the sector by 20 per cent, thus creating a good entry opportunity. Analysts at the US bank also raised the stock's price target to €197 from €184.90. They believe that organic margin opportunities and positive cash flow for top LVMH brands should produce long-last results and a better performance in the stock market. Higher margins are particularly expected in the Wine & Liquors and Watches & Jewelry businesses. On the other hand, LVMH faces the risk of moderation in the dynamics of the Louis Vuitton brand and a slowdown in global demand for luxury products, Goldman Sachs explains.

Mortgage provider Paragon Group of Companies backed up press speculation on Monday morning by confirming that it is thinking about acquiring small private bank Hampshire Trust. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that the buy-to-let lender was in discussions with Hampshire Trust over a deal that would grant it a banking licence for the first time. This would allow it to start offering savings accounts for its customers. In a statement, the company said: "The Paragon Group of Companies PLC notes the recent press speculation and confirms that it is in the early stages of considering the acquisition of Hampshire Trust Plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Counties Building Society. "There is no certainty that a transaction will be concluded. Paragon will update the market when it is appropriate to do so."

Chief Executive Bill Oliver commented: "Our robust business model and our practical, hands-on approach to development and asset management have enabled us to perform consistently well throughout the year and build on the strong results produced in 2011." St. Modwen, which launched a retail bond in October said the, "positive reaction to the retail bond was a clear endorsement of the attractions of our track record, our ability to generate development gains and our income producing portfolio, and are confident that we are well placed to continue our strong performance to the benefit of all our investors." Meanwhile it reported 276 house sale completions in its first full year of housebuilding activity in the UK. Just over a 100 were with its Persimmon joint venture and 175 were St. Modwen Homes. Net rental income for the year is expected to be ahead of the results achieved in 2011. Year-end debt levels are expected to be in line with levels of May 31st.

Regeneration specialist St. Modwen Properties said expectations for the full year remain unchanged after strong momentum across the entire group. The group, which has increased its focus on the residential market, said its residential business is moving from strength to strength, with good sales rates and ongoing demand for its land. The property developer, that owns the Elephant & Castle shopping centre in south east London and is leading the redevelopment of the New Covent Garden Market project, said it is experiencing good levels of demand for the land it sells and achieving price levels at or above book value. It continues to secure planning permissions across the UK with the most recent being East Staffordshire Borough Council's approval of plans to create a 30 acre development on disused parts of the Pirelli Factory Site in Burton upon Trent, which will include up to 300 homes, a hotel, restaurants, public house, offices and commercial units. St Modwen expects to deliver property development profits for the year ended November 30th 2012 ahead of 2011. It said its focus on generating development profits remains unchanged to ensure the future growth of the group in 2013 and beyond.