Last checked at LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are amongst the biggest risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Friday.
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FTSE 100 WINNERS
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Barratt Developments, up 1.5%. The housebuilder said David Thomas is to move from his current role as chief financial officer to take over as chief executive officer. Thomas will take over from Mark Clare on July 1, when Clare will step down after nine years in the CEO role to develop his non-executive career.
Vodafone Group, up 1.1%. The mobile telecoms company said late Thursday that Vodafone India has acquired spectrum in 12 telecom circles at auction for GBP2.8 billion, enabling it to expand its 3G capabilities. It said it will be able to expand its 3G service over its own network from nine circles to 16 circles. These circles in total represent 88% of Vodafone India's service revenues.
Shire, up 1.1%. UBS has raised its price target for the Irish drug company to 6,600.00 pence from 5,400.00p, maintaining its Buy rating on the stock. The company currently trades at 5,370.00 pence.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Antofagasta, down 1.8%. The Chilean copper miner said heavy rainfall in the Atacama desert in Chile has resulted in the company suspended operations at the Centinela, Antucoya and Michilla mines, all of which are located in the desert.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group, down 1.1%. The bank confirmed it has struck a deal to sell the international operations of its Coutts private banking and wealth management business to Swiss firm Union Bancaire Privée. The sale will include client relationships outside of the UK and associated staff, RBS said. RBS confirmed it will retain the UK private banking and wealth management operations of Coutts.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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HomeServe, up 3.0%. The home emergency company said it is trading in line with expectations for the year to the end of March. In a short trading statement, the company said trading across the company in the final quarter of its financial year has been good, with retention and marketing activities both performing well.
Workspace Group, up 2.8%. Canaccord Genuity has initiated the workspace lettings company with a Buy
Balfour Beatty, up 2.0%. HSBC has raised the construction company to Buy from Hold, with a price target increase to 285.00 pence from 185.00p. The company currently trades at 240.10p.
LondonMetric Property, up 1.6%. Canaccord Genuity has initiated the property investor with a Buy rating.
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FTSE 250 LOSERS
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Hunting, down 2.6%. The oil services company has been initiated at Neutral by JP Morgan.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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Xtract Resources, up 15%. The company said it has signed a deed of assignment with Mineral Technologies International Ltd which gives the company the option to fully acquire a sulphide copper tailings project in South Africa. Xtract has paid USD30,000 to have the option to acquire the project in the next seven months.
Polo Resources, up 12%. The natural resources exploration investment company said total net assets fell in the first-half of the financial year and have fallen further since, but net asset value per share has risen slightly over the last three months it said it has a strong cash balance to allow it to take a "flexible approach".
Oxford Pharmasciences Group, up 11%. The company reported successful results from a pilot clinical study on its OXPzero Naproxen gastrointestinal treatment. Oxford said the headline data showed results that demonstrate bioequivalence and that the OXPzero immediate release technology has been successfully optimised to allow immediate and complete drug release.
Europa Oil & Gas, up 9.8%. The companies involved in the Wressle-1 oil and gas discovery on the PEDL180 license in the UK Friday said the oil being produced at Wressle has increased after the operator completed a flow test on a fourth interval on the discovery. Europa Oil and Gas (Holdings) has a 33.3% interest.
CloudBuy, up 9.8%. The cloud-based e-commerce company said it has partnered with a US cloud-based provider of procurement services to provide a platform allowing end users to buy from successful tenders and provide visibility of the throughput and savings achieved.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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Messaging International, down 23%. The messaging services company said it expects revenue from its text-to-landline service to decline in 2015 due to a change in arrangements with a key customer, though it said it expects better margins to partially offset the hit to its results and said it is seeing good demand for its TeleMessage service.
Teathers Financial, down 20%. The investment company said it has raised GBP500,000 in a discounted placing. Teathers said it has issued 12.5 million shares at 4 pence per shares. The company's shares currently trade at 4.50p.
Judges Scientific, down 12%. The company said its pretax profit rose in 2014 as revenue increased, though the company said like-for-like sales slowed amid weak order intake and patchy demand in the scientific instrumentation sector.
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By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
IN BRIEF: Europa Oil & Gas withdraws from UK offshore licensing round
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) PLC - UK and Ireland-focused oil and gas exploration, development and production company - Updates on the company's application for a licence as part of the 33rd UK Offshore Licensing Round that closed in January. Says the North Sea Transition Authority proposes a marriage between Europa and another party for the Licence. But, Europa decides not to accept the proposed marriage and also notifies the NSTA that, if the NSTA subsequently decide to award the Licence, in its entirety to the company as the sole owner, Europa would decline the offer. Europa explains that since its original application various aspects of the operating conditions and the fiscal environment have changed and remain uncertain. This reduces the economic and strategic attractiveness of the licence. As such, Europa believes that its resources are better deployed on its existing assets and looking for new opportunities within its core areas of focus.
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