BEST OF THE BROKERS
AEGIS
Nomura reduced its full-year earnings per share forecast for Aegis from 8.8p to 8.1p to reflect adverse exchange rate movements and a slightly more cautious view on media buying margins. The broker expects client spending trends to improve as the recession begins to ease, and rates the stock “neutral” with a 114p price target.
TT ELECTRONICS
KBC Peel Hunt said that liquidity concerns have been removed since TT’s management team has aggressively cut costs to reduce group debt. The broker upgraded its 2010 pre-tax profit estimates by £4.5m to £6.9m, saying it expects further cost savings next year and for the shares to move sharply higher. It has a “buy” rating on the stock with a 78p target price.
DIAGEO
Diageo was downgraded from “add” to “neutral” by Evolution Securities ahead of its full-year results on 27 August. Evo believes that while the group will continue perform better than its peers this year, lacklustre top-line growth, slowing foreign exchange tailwinds and the drag of a poorly performing Moet Hennessy leave little reason to be bullish about the stock.