BEST OF THE BROKERS
ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT
Peel Hunt has downgraded its recommendation on the asset manager from “buy” to “hold” but upgraded its estimates and target price on the stock, with the latter climbing from 270p to 280p. The broker says strong performances in its key equity funds have led to upgrades of 2012 and 2013 estimates by four per cent and seven per cent respectively, but the 36 per cent share rise over three months means the recommendation falls.
ADMIRAL
Credit Suisse has upgraded the insurance group from “neutral” to “outperform” ahead of full-year figures expected on 7 March. The broker has also increased its target price on the stock from 1,100p to 1,300p, and expects the upcoming results to show that Admiral can regain market confidence as bodily injury challenges are being resolved. Credit Suisse expects pre-tax profits to come in at £295m.
RIGHTMOVE
Numis rates the mortgage group “add” with a target price of £14.29. The broker expects pre-tax profits of £67m when Rightmove reports its full year figures on Friday, with customer growth at around two per cent. Numis is also upbeat about the firm’s prospects for monetising mobile and commercial property products. Overall, it expects average revenue per advertiser to rise 11 per cent this year.