BEST OF THE BROKERS
JOHN WOOD GROUP
JP Morgan upgraded its rating for John Wood to “overweight” with an increased price target of 365p. The broker said that the shares are 13 per cent lower since 25 August, on concerns for Well Support’s exposure to onshore gas. It believes that these concerns are overdone and that earnings resilience is underappreciated.
PARTYGAMING
Investec said that the increasing focus on online casino and bingo, from which it expects new product launches to drive revenue growth, will offset a difficult poker market for PartyGaming. It reinitiated coverage on the stock with a “buy” rating and a target price of 310p, saying there is a 26 per cent potential upside.
LONMIN
Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded Lonmin to a “neutral” rating, saying that its “buy” had been premised on the successful restructuring of the business and a positive outlook for platinum group metal prices. However Lonmin has reached the broker’s price objective of 1,900p sooner than expected on M&A speculation.