STOCKS NEWS UK SMALL-Raymarine off high as sector retreats
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11:02GMT 11May2009-Raymarine off high as sector retreats
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Shares in leisure yacht electronics supplier Raymarine (RAY.L) fall back 8.5 percent from last Friday's six-month high, but remain more than 90 percent higher than a month ago.
"If you look at the tech, hardware, electronics sector the foot's come off the accelerator today," says Ian Robertson, an analyst at Seymour Pierce.
Robertson adds that the retreat is magnified for Raymarine by the fact it is orientated towards big-ticket spending, is very high margin and the management took on a considerable amount of debt.
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10:28GMT 11May2009-Debenhams down; caution on rights issue
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Shares in Debenhams (DEB.L), Britain's second-biggest department store group, fall 2.6 percent after Altium Securities casts doubt over recent rights-issue speculation that would help cut its debt pile.
"If we are truly in the foothills of an economic recovery, Debenhams probably does not need to raise new money. On our current forecasts it generates around 15 million pounds less cash than it needs to make its 2010 term loan payment," the broker says.
However, the broker adds, it still feels "it is too early to be confident of a near-term recovery."
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10:17GMT 11May2009-Aquarius P. down; Seymour Pierce "sell"
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Shares in platinum producer Aquarius Platinum (AQP.L) fall over 7 percent as Seymour Pierce repeats its "sell" recommendation on the stock, on read across from peer Lonmin's (LMI.L) interim results.
Seymour Pierce points out in a note that Lonmin's management say in Monday's results statement that they "anticipate no near-term relief to the current challenging market conditions."
The broker notes that Lonmin's management go on to say: "For platinum in particular, despite the moderate rise in price during the latter part of the period, an anticipated short-term improvement in jewellery demand coupled with investment interest is not enough to compensate for the ongoing weakness in automotive demand.
Seymour Pierce says it retains an "underweight" view on the Platinum Group Metal (PGM) sector at present.
Lonmin shares are more than 12 percent weaker.
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10:11GMT 11May2009-Sports retailers up on takeover talk
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Shares in sports retailers JD Sports (JD.L) and JJB Sports (JJB.L) rise 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent respectively following weekend newspaper reports that JD sports is considering launching a takover bid for JJB in the coming months.
Seymour Pierce, which rates JD Sports as a "buy", says: "The acquisition, in our view, would be highly complementary to JD Sports existing sports fashion apparel and footwear business whilst for JJB it would help overcome current issues in re-establishing itself in the market."
Altium Securities, which has a "sell" rating on JJB, says: "While recognising that (JJB's) shares are likely to benefit from this story, we remain concerned that the shares might have run ahead of the fundamentals."
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09:44GMT 11May2009-Hiscox slips on investment concerns
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Shares in UK-listed insurer Hiscox (HSX.L) slip as much as 9 percent on worries about the group's first-quarter investment performance and profit-taking, despite an otherwise positive trading statement.
"The stock was up at 8 pct on Friday. (Investors) are retrenching and they are also concerned about the investment side of things," says one equities analyst.
"The only thing in the statement that looked disappointing was the investment returns. Hiscox is worse than Catlin (CGL.L). Both investment returns are not that great," says Tom Dorner, analyst at Oriel Securities.
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09:38GMT 11May2009-African Copper up on ZCI deal
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Shares in African Copper (ACU.L) soar 68 percent after the exploration development company announces it has struck a deal to be bought up by rival group Zambian Copper Investments (ZCI), which will provide ACU with a comprehensive financing package of around $22.5 million.
"This secures the long-term future of the company," a London-based trader says.
African Copper says the deal will be financed using ZCI's internal cash resources and includes a $10 million bridge loan facility and returns around $8.8 million in cash to both bondholders and creditors.
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09:27GMT 11May2009-Next Fifteen higher on approaches
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Shares in Next Fifteen Communications (NFC.L) rise 21 percent to 52.5 pence after the AIM-listed PR group receives two offer approaches and Huntsworth (HNTS.L) confirms it is one of the suitors.
The other potential bidder is yet to be confirmed but a report in the Sunday Telegraph suggests Chime Communications (CHW.L) is weighing up an offer.
"Consolidation is long overdue among the marketing services agencies and Next Fifteen would offer a strong specialist technology PR arm in either potential buyer," says Charles Stanley analyst Paul Bates.
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