Search Share Prices
FTSE 250 movers: Inmarsat surges on EchoStar offer; Aggreko hit by broker note
London's FTSE 250 was up 0.8% to 21,323.87 in afternoon trade on Monday.
Satellite company Inmarsat was the standout gainer after saying on Friday that it had received and rejected a bid approach from US rival EchoStar on the basis that it "very significantly undervalued" the group and its prospects.
BCA Marketplace, the car auction house and owner of WeBuyAnyCar.com, surged after it rejected an approach from private equity group Apax Partners, which is mulling a potential buyout of the company.
Ocado got a boost as Goldman Sachs upped the stock to 'buy' from 'neutral' and hiked the price target to 1,160p from 540p as it assesses the global opportunity following news of the company's partnership with US-based grocery retailer Kroger last month.
"Ocado's announced partnership with Kroger was transformational in our opinion, both in the number of distribution centres Kroger is looking to start building (a commitment to 20 customer fulfilment centres versus one CFC in each of Ocado's three previous OSP deals), and in the validation of Ocado's Smart Platform (OSP) as an online grocery solution with a global addressable market."
GS said that while the share price rose materially on the back of the deal, its analysis at a local market level points to a US opportunity more than double Kroger's initial commitment.
TalkTalk advanced as Deutsche Bank lifted its price target on the buy-rated stock to 180p from 170p. DB said there is increasing evidence that the simpler strategy is bearing fruit, at least from a customer and top-line growth recovery perspective.
On the downside, Aggreko and Capita fell as Liberum initiated coverage of the stocks at 'sell' at 'buy' respectively.
On Aggreko it said: "Our main concerns relate to the competitive pressures within its core business, as well as the level of recovery on its LT receivables alongside a continued deterioration in DSO. Risks to medium term estimates remain, which are not reflected in the current valuation."
As far as Capita is concerned, Liberum said: "Although risks remain, we believe that the long-term value of its core business and client relationship are being overly discounted. We are encouraged by management's first steps towards simplifying the business."
FTSE 250 - Risers
Inmarsat (ISAT) 534.40p 12.77%
BCA Marketplace (BCA) 231.00p 9.48%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,066.75p 6.74%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 114.80p 6.20%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,556.00p 3.01%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 393.40p 2.74%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 244.00p 2.74%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 113.70p 2.52%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,828.00p 2.46%
Bodycote (BOY) 1,043.00p 2.36%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aggreko (AGK) 666.40p -2.54%
Capita (CPI) 153.45p -1.89%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 782.50p -1.88%
FirstGroup (FGP) 84.80p -1.74%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 252.58p -1.72%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 996.80p -1.55%
Redrow (RDW) 616.00p -1.52%
Savills (SVS) 933.00p -1.43%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 272.10p -1.41%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 636.20p -1.24%