The Week - UK (2021-02-06)

Shares CITY 51

6February 2021 THE WEEK

Asos
TheTimes
Theonlinefashionstorehas
beefedupitsboardandseen
profitsquadruplethanksto
improvedwarehouselogistics.
TheTopshopacquisition
shouldaccelerategrowth.
Awinneroftheretailshake-
out.Buy.£47.

CeresPower
TheDailyTelegraph
Ceresisapioneerofworld-
leadingfuelcelltechnology

• oneofthegreatesthopesfor
  cleanpower–andlicencesto
  otherfirmsforproduction,
  thuskeepingitsowncosts
  down.AmongtheUK’s“best
  techhopes”.Buy. £ 15 .88.

Fever-TreeDrinks

TheTimes

Themixer-maker’sstellar

growthsince 2013 hasmoder-

ated,butit’sstilla“quality”

business.Overseasgrowthand

marketsharegainsintheUK

sawrevenuesfallbyjust 3 %

in 20 20.Settofizz whenpubs

reopen.Buy.£24.97.

PZCussons

InvestorsChronicle

Soaringdemandforhygiene

productsinthepandemichas

beenaboonfortheowner

ofCarexandCussonsBaby

brands.Aspeculativebet

oncontinuingpost-crisis

momentum–iftheturnaround

provessuccessful.Buy.240p.

Totally

TheDailyTelegraph

ServicesprovidedfortheNHS

includeoperatingthe 111

phonelineinsomeareas,

out-of-hoursGPsand

physiotherapy.Withnetcash

foracquisitions,there’s“huge

scope”forgrowth,andprofits

shouldimprove.Buy.26.75p.

VodafoneGroup

TheSundayTelegraph

Themobilephonecompany

isactiveacrossEuropeand

lookingfitter.Cutcosts,and

proceedsfromthefloatofits

mastbusiness,willlowerdebt;

churnratesarefalling,andthe

regulatoryoutlookisimprov-

ing.Yields6.3%.Buy.124.8p.

Who’s tipping what

Theweek’sbest shares

...and some to hold, avoid or sell

CineworldGroup
The Times
The cinemaoperator may
survive the threat from
home-streaming,but it faces
headwinds.Awithdrawn offer
for Canada’s Cineplex has
triggered legalaction,andits
tone-deaf executive incentive
scheme continuesto drawfire.
Avoid. 69p.

CrestNicholson
InvestorsChronicle
Thehousebuilder struggledto
executeaturnaround strategy
amid lockdown disruption.
Butthe stampduty break has
aidedrecovery: profits and
cash were aheadof guidance.
Hold.318p.

Glencore

The SundayTimes

The mineriss hifting towards

green energyby investingin

“future facing” metalslike

zinc andcobalt–it is akey

supplier to Tesla.But

unresolved investigations

continue,and debt remains

high. Hold.246.4p.

Indivior

The Times

Shares rallied on newsthat

the pharma hassettle da

probeinto the marketing of

its anti -opioiddrug Suboxone

Film, clearing the way to

focus on Sublocade–a

next-generationinjectable

treatment. Hold.144.7p.

KeystoneLaw Group

TheDailyTelegraph

The lawfirm enjoyedastrong

finish to 2020 thanks to

continuing demand andhigh

levelsofclient service.Shar es

have gained more than 50%

sincethe Marchlow, and

dividendsare set to resume.

Hold.565p.

Wizz Air

TheTimes

Current trading is “awful”, but

the short-haulbudgetcarrier,

originally focusedonEastern

Europe, is now the disrupter

Ryanair oncewas.Ahealthy

balance sheetshou ld ensure

it emerge sfromthe crisisin

prime position. Hold. £44.02.

Directors’ dealings

BabcockInternational

Sharesinthedefencecontrac-

tortumbledonwarningsof

“negativeimpacts”onits

finances.Profitsplungedinthe

pandemic,andrecoverypros-

pectsaredwindling.Three

directorshavebought£178,860

ofsharestorestoreconfidence.

Form guide

Shares tipped 12 weeks ago

Best tip

Volution Group

The Daily Telegraph

up 57.36% to 310p

Worst tip

Hikma Pharmaceuticals

Investors Chronicle

down 9.35% to £24.34

Marketview

“Whenyouseewhat’s

happeningwithGameStop,

youask:isthismanipulation,

isthismasspsychosis,oris

theresomethingwronginour

marketstructure?”

ProfJamesAngelof

GeorgetownUniversity.

QuotedinTheNewYorkTimes

SOURCE

:INVESTORS CHRONICLE

Market summary

6-monthmovement in the FTSE100index

2Feb 2021 Week before Change (%)

FTSE 100 6516.65 6654.01 –2.06%

FTSE All-share UK 3707.20 3761.64 –1.45%

Dow Jones 30812.23 30943.90 –0.43%

NASDAQ 13620.55 13603.83 0.12%

Nikkei 225 28362.17 28546.18 –0.64%

Hang Seng 29248.70 29391.26 –0.49%

Gold 1862.95 1856.85 0.33%

Brent Crude Oil 57.50 55.94 2.79%

DIVIDEND YIELD(FTSE 100) 2.94% 2.92%

UK 10-year gilts yield 0.35 0.26

US 10-year Treasuries 1.11 1.03

UK ECONOMIC DATA

Latest CPI (yoy) 0.6% (Dec) 0.3% (Nov)

0.9% (Nov)

7.6% (Nov)

Latest RPI (yoy) 1.2% (Dec)

Halifax house price (yoy) 6.0% (Dec)

£1 STERLING $1.367 E1.136 ¥143.564

Key numbers for investors Best and worst performing shares Following the Footsie

WEEK’S CHANGE, FTSE 100 STOCKS

RISES Price %change

Intl. Cons. Airl. Gp. 149.95 +7.15

Melrose Industries 178.15 +6.61

Ictl. Htls. Gp. 4876.00 +6.42

B&M European Value 558.00 +5.12

Diageo 3044.00 +4.52

FALLS

Prudential 1197.50 –12.75

Imperial Brands 1456.50 –10.40

BP 255.00 –9.69

Astrazeneca 7380.00 –7.19

Royal Dutch Shell B 1250.20 –6.06

BEST AND WORST UK STOCKS OVERALL

Fragrant Prosperity 5.8 +169.77

Iconic Labs 0.003 –57.12

Source: Datastream (not adjusted for dividends). Prices on2Feb (pm)

5,500

7,000

6,500

6,000

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

150

400

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

200

250

300

350

3directors

buy 90,000