Westhouse Securities this morning recommended a “hold” on BP (LON:BP.) despite positive news about the amount of oil being siphoned from its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico. Westhouse said the higher amount of oil now being captured could indicate that the amount of oil previously spilling into the Gulf was worse than thought and could, in turn, result in substantially higher long-term liabilities for BP. It also pointed to uncertainly over whether the group could withstand political pressure over a temporary cut or suspension of its dividend.
Meanwhile, FinnCap advised a “hold” on oil services group Lamprell Plc (LON:LAM), claiming its shares were “close to fair value in the near term” despite a 35% rise in the value of its order book to $608m. Westhouse Securities took a dim view of what it called a “poor-quality earnings stream” and rated it a “sell”. Elsewhere, FinnCap maintained a ‘buy’ recommendation for Vectura Group (LON:VEC) and a target price of 120p after the drug developer beat forecasts with full year revenues of £40.1m and revealed strong progress across its portfolio. However, the firm held back from advising a “buy” at Begbies Traynor Group (LON:BEG), despite a substantial de-rating in the accountancy group’s shares from 200p to 62p. FinnCap warned that the grounds for an upward movement were not yet in place.
Astaire Securities endorsed last Friday’s acquisition by department store group Beale (LON:BAE) of a new outlet in Hexham, claiming that increasing the scale of the business appeared to be the right strategy. Elsewhere, it said today’s full year results from IT services group Phoenix It Group (LON:PNX), which saw revenues dip by 2.9% to £245.8m, were in line with consensus expectations.
Finally, HB Markets has upgraded Advanced Computer Software (LON:ASW) from “hold” to “buy” on the back of a promising new contract and likewise advised a “buy” at £E2V following a major reorganisation at the semiconductor group.Elsewhere, “speculative buy” notes were added to Prologic (LON:PGC), Servicepower Technologies Plc (LON:SVR), Trakm8 Hldgs (LON:TRAK) UBC Media Group (LON:UBC) while Latchways (LON:LTC), NEOVIA Financial (LON:NEO), Software Radio Technology (LON:SRT), Vyke Communications Plc (LON:VYKE) and Zoo Digital Group Plc (LON:ZOO) all earned…
