BEST OF THE BROKERS
VODAFONE
Nomura said that Vodafone’s European assets declined 2.7 per cent faster than its main rivals in the June quarter and the underperformance has increased over the past year. The broker is concerned that its forecasts assume a sudden return to stable revenue share next calendar year. It fears this is too optimistic and retains its “reduce” recommendation.
AEGIS
UBS notes that Aegis has underperformed rivals WPP and Publicis by around 10 to 15 per cent in the past month. The broker believes this to reflect Publicis reporting a better-than-expected margin performance, plus concerns over the potential top-line weakness at Aegis. It does however believe that concerns are overdone and has upgraded its rating to “buy”.
JD WETHERSPOON
Goldman Sachs raised its estimates and price target to reflect its expectation of higher-than-previously-forecast operating profit margin. The broker said that like-for-like sales in the pre-close trading statement were in line with its expectations, and increased its six month price target to 380p, from 340p, and reiterated its “sell” recommendation on the stock.