Member Info for Mulder

Does a 3% drop in profits warrant a 47% drop in share price? [�95M Vs �98M]

Well spotted - Google Finance is not even showing that trade (!) with the volume for the day reported at 2.66M. That trade alone was 4M though and yes bizarrely the price jumped straight back to 116.5p so someone/fund/institution has mopped up the shares. Just confirms what we've been saying all along. Any update on IR? They appeared to be in meetings all afternoon yesterday.

It is an absolute disgrace how water utilities in particular have been trashed. Shorter driven of course in a totally UNregulated market. 25% down in 2 months! Supposed 'safe defensive' water utility. I am sorry but has an election been called? No. Is Corbyn PM? No. Are Labour even ahead in the polls. No! No election required until 2022.

How can you be so certain? Do you have a direct line to the CEO? The Telegraph is not a tabloid and furthermore Zak Mir called Spire correctly last year and Aveva. Do you not want a takeover bid? Or are you shorting?

15-Feb-18 08:00 59.20 1Sell* Not sure who is selling here when the activists are increasing stakes.

Centrica (OTCMKTS:CPYYY) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a �sell� rating to a �hold� rating. According to Zacks, �Centrica is a top thirty FTSE100 company with growing energy businesses in the UK, North America and Europe. They secure and supply gas and electricity for millions of homes and businesses and offer a distinctive range of home energy solutions and low-carbon products and services. �

First The Telegraph now Zak Mir. No smoke without fire... ******************************************************************* Vectura Attracting Bid Interest From GSK�s Competitors Besides GlaxoSmithkline (LON:GSK) becoming more keen at this level, around 78p, the weak share price has attracted more M&A interest for Vectura (LON:VEC). Previously it appeared 200p a share would be required to take over Vectura against competition from the likes of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Bristol Meyers (NYSE:BMY). On the smaller side Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARNA) may want to gatecrash the party. The fundamental buy argument here which the potential bidders are backing is the way that Vectura is cash rich, debt free, and with potential consisting of the group�s technology and drugs pipeline. The strategic interest for GSK�s competitors is that they would not wish the UK giant to get a sector edge over them via Vectura. Given that this is relatively small company around �500m � even a 100% premium is only pocket change for one of the multinationals. The implication is that �1.50 may now be the price than is too good an offer for Vectura shareholders to resist. https://zakmir.com/

Look how disgracefully the markets have already put Corbyn and his marxist side kick in number 10. Huge sell offs of all utilities especially water down an obscene 25% in one month!!! These utilities are trading at just 10x earnings and prices not seen for 6-20 years. Meanwhile trash like Just Eat and Fevertree are allowed to trade at 80x earnings.

You are painting the doomsday scenario. The last election was only 6 months ago. No obligation for another one until 2022. Labour will not get in for another generation at least. Corbyn is already seen as too old by many with a chequered past. If there is no election what will happen to the SP then? P/E under 10 for a water utility is ridiculous.

Ex PAF board member. Should be favourable to miners. Need a stimulus here. Negates nationalisation risks also one would think.

I have a feeling you will enjoy this piece oldbadger! Very interesting piece and further highlights the problems with the market. Confirms what most experienced PI's already knew. *********************************************************************************************************************************** Can you trust broker 'buy' recommendations for UK shares? FTSE 100 firms with the highest percentage of �buy� ratings by analysts underperformed the index as a whole in 2017, according to new research released by AJ Bell. Worse still, five of the 10 most widely tipped stocks produced NEGATIVE returns in 2017. This is the second year in a row that broker �buy ratings� have flopped, calling into question whether such tips are worth the paper they are written on. At the same time, the 10 FTSE 100 firms with the highest percentage of �sell� ratings last year collectively performed better than the rest of FTSE 100 index. ***Overall, investors would have been better off buying the most �sell� rated FTSE 100 firms. According to Russ Mould of AJ Bell, the poor performance of the most �buy� rated shares shows that �the well-informed, diligent, expert broking community has little more idea of what is coming than anyone else, at least in the short term.� http://www.moneyobserver.com/news/23-01-2018/can-you-trust-broker-buy-recommendations-uk-shares

Interesting piece and further highlights the problems with the market. Confirms what most experienced PI's already knew. Can you trust broker 'buy' recommendations for UK shares? FTSE 100 firms with the highest percentage of �buy� ratings by analysts underperformed the index as a whole in 2017, according to new research released by AJ Bell. Worse still, five of the 10 most widely tipped stocks produced NEGATIVE returns in 2017. This is the second year in a row that broker �buy ratings� have flopped, calling into question whether such tips are worth the paper they are written on. At the same time, the 10 FTSE 100 firms with the highest percentage of �sell� ratings last year collectively performed better than the rest of FTSE 100 index. ***Overall, investors would have been better off buying the most �sell� rated FTSE 100 firms. According to Russ Mould of AJ Bell, the poor performance of the most �buy� rated shares shows that �the well-informed, diligent, expert broking community has little more idea of what is coming than anyone else, at least in the short term.� http://www.moneyobserver.com/news/23-01-2018/can-you-trust-broker-buy-recommendations-uk-shares

BT another great example. FTSE100 stock to boot. 75p in 2009. 500p in 2015 225p now Did their huge pension problems ever go away? No. It's just the market chose to forget about it for 8 years. Dodgy accounting/accountants as at Tesco did not help either.

A fifth of the market cap is held in cash now. The GSK rumour last month of 175p seems a little high but given the strong balance sheet and cash at hand M&A is possible.

315p I believe was the last offer. Who knows the business better? Yet again the market is showing just how irrational and stupid it can be. Having said that in the short term trading will be bumpy IMO but longer term can only do well - as Mediclinic clearly believed also. Hope Hospital Corporation America come in with a bid.

Centrica/British Gas gets a lot of bad press for being a 'rip off'/the most expensive but it is actually one of the cheapest among the Top 6. IR and PR relations need much improvement.

This is the market though. It is highly irrational, rogue and corrupt. For years Shire was 'fancied' by the market and hedge funds. It hit 5700p in 2015 at a time when the company was in a far more precarious position than it is now. No one can explain why the market feels it is worth half the value now. Change 'sentiment' with 'manipulation' and you have your explanation. Market is total BS. Just look at Fevertree and Just Eat - trading at P/E's around 80 (!) but the market still feels they are 'undervalued'!

People will argue the stock market has always been rigged and yes of course it is. Major fundamentals like P/E go out of the window as long as the market 'likes it'. Take Just Eat for example. Trading on a P/E around 70 (!). Has risen 400% in 3 years. Abcam P/E 60, SSPG P/E 33, BTG P/E 35. On the other hand quality companies like SSE, Centrica, National Grid, water utilities, M&S, Shire, Spire, Saga are trading on P/E's 10 or less now. Yes there are other factors at play but way overblown and does it justify such a huge disparity in valuations? A P/E around 10 is usually considered cheap and anything 20+ on the expensive side. What will happen is the shares above will suddenly become disliked by Mr Market and MM's then come crashing down by 200-300%. Have a look at the charts for Hikma, Vectura and Shire for example. Horrific. PS. Book price is net assets/number of shares in issue. It is more complex however as you also need to look at % of intangibles/goodwill on the books.

SP was held in a flat line at 116p all day today.

Who noticed the blatant shorter driven manipulation here today and at other utilities like UU? Up by 46p at one point and then a series of small trades in the last half hour and the SP collapses to just +4p Pathetic. Blatant manipulation and price suppression driven by short sellers.