STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-ReNeuron soars on talk of trial update
Shares in stem cell specialist ReNeuron (RQE.L) rise as much as 25 percent, with traders pointing to talk it is close to announcing it has received the green light to start human trials of its therapy for stroke victims.
"There's been a massive retail demand for these (shares) over the last few hours. They're talking them up on the internet boards," says a trader.
ReNeuron is waiting for approval from the British Gene Therapy Advisory Committee before it can go ahead with the Phase 1 tests. The company is due to attend a European Partnering Conference for biotechnology companies in London on Thursday and will announce its full-year results on June 30.
"There might be speculation that along with the results announcement there is something else to be announced," says Jacob Plieth, analyst at Edison Investment Research. Nobody at the company is immediately available for comment.
Posters on investment Web sites say they expects the company to make an announcement in the coming days.
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13:03GMT 23Jun2009-Bunzl gains after update
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Shares in Bunzl (BNZL.L) gain 2.3 percent after the British distribution group says its overall trading in the year-to-date has been in line with full-year expectations but the challenging economic environment put pressure on margins.
"Although the margins declined slightly in the first half, this was in line with our expectations and mirrors the pattern last year when there was rebound in the second half," Seymour Pierce says in a note.
The broker repeats its "buy" rating on the stock, and retains its full-year 2009 numbers for the firm, pointing out that recent news from the food retailers has confirmed that Bunzl's main market is still very robust. has confirmed that Bunzl's main market is still very robust.
It adds that the shares are not expensive on around 8.9 times 2009 earnings.
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11:55GMT 23Jun2009-UK small caps gain 0.8 percent midday
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The FTSE Small Cap index .FTSC falls 0.7 percent in midday trade, underperforming both the blue chips .FTSE and the midcaps .FTMC which add 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
Avesco (AVS.L) drops 17.5 percent after the corporate entertainment firm reports widening losses for the first-half of 2009, with FinnCap saying "the results reflect the difficult conditions". [ID:nLN875345]
Yule Catto (YULC.L), meanwhile, adds 8.3 percent, as the chemicals firm says it expects full-year profit to beat market expectations after construction markets became more robust during the first half. [ID:nLN85139]
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11:00GMT 23June2009-Wetherspoon up on Morgan Stanley 'double upgrade"
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Shares in JD Wetherspoon (JDW.L) gain 6.5 percent, taking second place on the FTSE 250 .FTMC leaderboard, as Morgan Stanley upgrades its rating on the pubs group to "overweight" from "underweight".
Morgan Stanley says, in a note, it sees JD Wetherspoon as a "long-term winner" in the pub industry, and with the shares off 18 percent in the last three months, "(it) think(s) the refinancing risks are well reflected in the price".
"Its market share gains are accelerating, and we expect it to continue to generate 2-3 percent (like-for-like) sales growth in the medium term, enough to drive consistent double-digit EPS growth," says the broker, which lifts its target price to 480 pence from 440 pence.
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10:22GMT 23June2009-Focus Solutions gains on product launch
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Shares in Focus Solutions (FSG.L) rise 12.5 percent as the supplier of enterprise solutions to the financial services industry announces the launch of a new distribution platform focus:enterprise, which prompts broker Daniel Stewart to repeat its "buy" rating.
The company says the platform is designed to meet the needs of global retail banks facing increased regulatory, compliance, risk management and customer relations scrutiny.
Daniel Stewart says the announcement "reinforces the key message which is the gathering pace of regulatory scrutiny" and adds, "we do not anticipate this driver will lose momentum".
The broker estimates an EPS of 5.7 pence per share for 2009.
For more double click on [ID:nRnsW3111U]
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10:01GMT 23June2009-Burberry gains; Morgan Stanley upgrades
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Shares in Burberry (BRBY.L) gain 3.6 percent as Morgan Stanley upgrades its rating on the maker of upmarket raincoats and handbags to "overweight" from "equal-weight", while lifting its target price to 465 pence from 431 pence.
"We think (Burberry) has potential to take share in a fragmented market as its brand position will make it more attractive vs. high-end luxury peers," says Morgan Stanley in a note.
However, the broker notes the potential for gross margin recovery in full-year 2010 depends on successful inventory control, and says the recent strength in sterling vs. Burberry's major currency exposures will dampen enthusiasm for earnings upgrades.
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