BEST OF THE BROKERS
UK MAIL
Seymour Pierce reckons UK Mail had a good Christmas and has upgraded its full-year profit forecasts for 2010 as a result. The broker notes UK Mail shares had a strong rise at the end of last year thanks to the postal strikes but have slipped to a level which looks under-rated. It has moved from a “hold” rating to “outperform”.
ST JAMES’S PLACE
Numis says new business figures for the wealth manager came in well ahead of estimates, with sales set to fuel profits in future periods. The shares have rallied by 20 per cent in a month and are in line with Numis’ analysis. Accordingly, the broker has switched its rating on the stock from “add” to “hold”.
LONMIN
Canaccord Adams has upgraded its recommendation on Lonmin shares to a “buy” from a “sell” and hiked its price target to 2,300p from 1,050p. It believes the long-term investment case for platinum is strong and the rating on Lonmin reflects the firm’s belief that a supply deficit in 2010 will create even higher metal prices.