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STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-SThree falls; HSBC cuts to "neutral"

Fri May 15, 2009 8:21am EDT

Stocks

   

Shares in SThree (STHR.L) fall 9.2 percent to 208.5 pence after HSBC downgrades the UK-based recruiter to "neutral" from "overweight".

HSBC says SThree's recent share price run limits its upside potential, hence the downgrade.

However, the broker lifts the target price to 220 pence from 190. SThree shares more than doubled between Dec 5, when they sank as low as 117 pence, and May 7.

The broker reiterates its "underweight" rating on both Michael Page (MPI.L) and Hays (HAYS.L), the two other mid-cap UK recruiters.

"One of the reasons why we favour SThree, even though we believe that this labour cycle still has a long way to run before bottoming out, is that it has recently demonstrated its ability to survive depression-like markets." says the broker.

Reuters Messaging: brian.gorman.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net



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