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Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" recommendation for Goldenport (GPRT) with a 125p target price. The shipping company has sold a bulk carrier, built in 1990, for 5.4 million dollars (3.5 million pounds), which the broker said will be used to buy a replacement as part of its fleet renewal strategy. Panmure noted that this is the group's third disposal of the year as it looks to take advantage of relatively strong scrapping prices. The broker added that the shares trade at a 50% discount to the net value of the fleet, although warned that earnings may be subdued in the near term.

Seymour Pierce retained its "buy" stance on Burberry (BRBY), with a target price of 1,700p, ahead of the group's first quarter results release on 11th July. The broker attributed the shares' recent underperformance to concerns over luxury spending declines, but noted that this has not materialised. Seymour Pierce forecasts like-for-like sales growth of 9% and pointed to the group's strong balance sheet, with net cash of 338 million pounds at the end of the 2012 financial year

N+1 Brewin lowered its rating for Marshalls (MSLH) from "add" to "hold" with a reduced target price of 85p, from 96p. The paving company's second quarter performance was impacted by record levels of rain, which the broker noted resulted in first half revenues falling by 5% year-on-year to 167 million pounds. Meanwhile, Brewin said that the firm has implemented a number of cost reductions, which it expects will generate annual savings of 4 million pounds

Valuation: Remains undervalued International Greetings continues to be priced at a considerable discount (30%+) to the larger US-based concerns (American Greetings and CSS), which is no longer an accurate reflection of the comparative risk. With the continued reduction of debt, resumption of dividend payments is on the horizon, possibly in FY14, which will add to the recovery argument and emphasise the value in the shares.

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/IntlGreetings060712update.pdf

Panmure Gordon believes that Elephant Atta is a perfect fit for Associated British Foods and has maintained its 'buy' recommendation and 1,300p target price on the FTSE 100 food, ingredients and retail firm. Panmure said that the price (£34m) equates to just 1.9 times sales of £17.8m and 5.3 times EBITDA (earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation) of £6.4m, "which in our view is an excellent price given ABF should also be able to achieve some synergies when it transfers production to its Tilbury site once it has received regulatory clearance".

Jefferies has downgraded its recommendation for pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca from 'buy' to hold' after the recent strong performance in the shares. "The shares have traded as low as 2,578p during the last few months as weak markets and irrational fears over potential large-scale M&A that could threaten current dividend expectations have been reflected in the stock price," the broker said in a research report on Friday. "As we expected, these fears have subsided as other commentators have begun to understand the importance of the dividend and share repurchase programme following reassuring commentary from management."

Northland Capital kept its "buy" recommendation for Hyder Consulting (HYC) with a 500p target price. The firm's order book has increased by 16% year-on-year to 363 million pounds, which the broker noted puts it at its highest level since March 2009. Northland noted that 72.9% of the engineering advisory group's revenues come from outside the UK, adding that Australasia offers much higher margins than in Europe. On the broker's forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective earnings multiple of 8.5 times for 2013, falling to 8.1 times in 2014

With UK conditions remaining weak, Panmure Gordon has cut its rating for Interior Services Group (ISG) from "buy" to "hold" with a significantly reduced target price of 112p, from 189p. The broker believes that the office refurbishment company is facing growing pressure on its margins and has therefore lowered its pre-tax profit forecasts by 6% for 2012 to 7.5 million pounds and by 24% to 8 million pounds for 2013. Additionally, Panmure warned that the dividend may well be cut from 15.1p to 9p, although noted that the firm retains a strong net cash position of 25 million pounds

N+1 Brewin reiterated its "reduce" recommendation for Yule Catto (YULC) with a lower target price of 130p, from 160p. The broker was surprised by the chemicals manufacturer issuing a profit warning just six weeks after an in-line interim management statement, suggesting a rapid decline in the firm's outlook. Brewin noted that the group's Asian nitrile business is facing increased competition and raised concern over its high reliance on demand from the west.

Jane Zavalishina, CEO, Yandex.Money, said: "It has always been vital for Yandex.Money to stay ahead of the curve and offer a wide range of relevant services and superior customer experience. We were able to easily embed the Earthport service into our existing systems, providing our customers with a seamless service to transfer money internationally. We chose Earthport as they were able to demonstrate their market leading cross-border payment expertise and a clear understanding of our market." Earthport offers Yandex.Money customers a service with fee transparency, confidence in delivery time, as well as predictability of the amount of funds received into the beneficiary account. Hank Uberoi, Executive Director, Earthport said: "We are excited to work with Yandex.Money to deliver an exceptional service for their customers. Our innovative international payments platform involves minimal upfront investment and fits perfectly with Yandex.Money's aims to make electronic payments easier, safer and more transparent."

Go Live with Yandex.Money Earthport, the cross-border payments service provider, is pleased to announce a go live with Yandex.Money, the leading e-wallet service in Russia and the CIS, to offer wider international payment options to their customers. This will enable Yandex.Money's e-wallet holders access to a new range of flexible, cost-effective and reliable international payment services. Electronic payments, including international online purchasing, have grown rapidly over the last few years in Russia and the CIS, with the number of active e-wallets in Russia growing by 50% in 2010. Partnering with Earthport enables Yandex.Money customers to make a payment to bank accounts directly in all Earthport supported territories across the world from their electronic wallet.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207061124251123H

Ryanair, under threat of High Court action from the Office of Fair Trading, has agreed to act over its hidden credit card charges. The budget airline, under threat of High Court action from the Office of Fair Trading, has agreed to act over its hidden credit card charges — one of the biggest running sores among the numerous complaints levelled against it. The budget airline has promised to withdraw the charges for online transactions, which are added as a final insult on top of taxes, flight fees and the added costs of baggage, insurance, seat reservations and priority boarding. The move has prompted the OFT to issue a blanket industry ruling that all debit card charges, even if they are dressed up as administration or handling fees, will have to be disclosed upfront by airlines operating out of the UK, The Times reports.

In the Telegraph, the Questor column is very happy with engineering firm GKN’s takeover of Volvo’s engine division for 633m pounds. The deal pushes the group into becoming one of the top 10 suppliers to the commercial aircraft industry. GKN also trades at a relatively modest 8.3 times earnings. Questor says buy.

Tempus also likes Cineworld, the cinema chain. It may, or may not, struggle this summer as its tries to do battle with the Olympics but Tempus thinks the company is doing the right things, ending the online booking charge and opening new outlets. The column notes it’s one of the few retail areas that is still able to grow: “one for the long term”.

The steady rise of Babcock International, the engineering and outsourcing giant, is noted by Tempus in the Times. An extremely upbeat trading statement yesterday underlined its almost unique position within the British economy, able to decommission nuclear power stations as well as be involved in building the next generation. Not to mention providing huge training and maintenance capacity for the military. Trading on 12.5 times earnings, Tempus says Babcock is a buy.

Valuation: Margins to drive rating expansion Volex has spent much of the last year trading in the 250p to 300p range and currently sits at the lower end of this. A current year P/E ratio of 7.6x, and a PEG of 0.66 (based on 13% EPS CAGR FY13 to FY15) looks more like a value rating than one for a genuine growth stock. Investors seem reluctant to accept a continuation of the recent delivery of earnings progression, at least to the level that we anticipate. This may simply be a market call, as operational and financial risks have been much reduced. We remain of the view that progress towards management’s gross margin target will be key to moving Volex’s rating nearer to that of its larger US peers with a c 13x average P/E ratio

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/volex050712outlook.pdf

Investec has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation for engineering group GKN after the news that it has agreed to acquire Volvo Aero. "The acquisition of Volvo Aerospace has been announced on terms that are better than anticipated in the media," the broker said in a research note on Thursday. "Compared to some predictions, the cost (enterprise value) of £633m is lower, the equity raise is lower (5% placing), expected returns are higher (return on invested capital, with operating margins to be boosted by c£25m of cost savings)."