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FTSE 250 movers: Go-Ahead goes backwards, eOne gains on TV deal
London's mid-cap stock index lost ground on Thursday, as Go-Ahead went backwards and IMI lost ground to undermine gains for Entertainment One and James Fisher.
Bus and train operator Go-Ahead was under the cosh as Deutsche Bank downgraded to 'hold' from 'buy', slashing the price target to 1,840p from 2,340p in the absence of future rail franchise wins.
Shares dropped after the bank pointed out that despite its stock performing "very well" since mid-February, first on the back of good first-half results and then on read-across from Apollo's bid for FirstGroup, it still saw potential for it to follow the "same muted trends" as the rest of the bus industry.
Specialist engineering company IMI lost ground throughout the day after it noted that it expected first-half order intake would be lower than last year, following strong petrochemical order input in the first half of 2017.
Hunting dropped after analysts at UBS downgraded their rating on the mid-cap oil services group but raised their price target over concerns of US bottle-necks. The Swiss bank cut its stance on the FTSE 250-listed firm to 'neutral' from 'buy' at the same time as it upped its target to 850p from 800p.
Leading the risers, Entertainment One gained on the back of a deal struck with British TV production company Fired Up Films to assist in the production of scripted and non-scripted shows, focusing on blue-chip documentaries factual entertainment formats, feature docs and drama projects.
As part of the deal, eOne will co-produce and serve as the studio on scripted and non-scripted content from Fired Up, which focuses on documentaries factual entertainment formats, feature docs and drama projects. Fired Up founders Simon Howley and Jon-Barrie Waddell, 20-year TV industry veterans, have produced shows such as National Geographic's 'Hitler's Hidden Drug Habit', Discovery's 'How Jaws Changed The World', Animal Planet's 'Texas Rodeo Tikes', and Netflix's 'The Great Train Robbery - A Tale of Two Thieves'.
James Fisher gained after it told investors that all four of its divisions "appear well set" for the year after the first four months of trading came in line with directors' expectations. "Looking ahead, all four of our divisions appear well set with marine support and offshore oil leading the way," said outgoing chairman Charles Rice, adding that the group's outlook for the year is "positive" and that Fisher is "well placed to provide further growth".
Low-cost carrier Wizz Air took off on the news that its new UK subsidiary had been granted an air operator's certificate and an operating licence by Britain's Civil Aviation Authority. With the addition of Wizz Air UK, the group will have roughly 9m seats on sale on its low fare routes to and from the UK in 2018, a 14% growth in capacity year-on-year.
CYBG shares were stronger as speculation about a potential merger with Virgin Money continued to do the rounds.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,503.89 -0.52%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,364.18 -0.69%
techMARK (TASX) 3,419.66 -1.15%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 285.40p 4.93%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,765.00p 3.46%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 4,484.00p 3.22%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 243.00p 2.53%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,286.00p 1.89%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 133.90p 1.75%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 368.50p 1.71%
CYBG (CYBG) 316.00p 1.67%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 392.80p 1.39%
Pennon Group (PNN) 710.00p 1.28%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,741.00p -10.90%
IMI (IMI) 1,060.00p -6.11%
Hunting (HTG) 779.00p -5.92%
Elementis (ELM) 277.60p -4.28%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 375.10p -4.12%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 269.20p -4.06%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,712.00p -3.71%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 132.90p -3.70%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 398.80p -3.48%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 250.00p -3.10%