FTSE 250 movers: Sports Direct flounders while oilers climb
By Duncan Ferris
Date: Monday 12 Nov 2018
(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was down 1.26% at 18,865.07 in afternoon trade on Monday, as Sports Direct dropped amid broker concern.
Mike Ashley's sporting equipment retailer Sports Direct slumped after an initiation at 'sell' by Berenberg with a target price of 270p as it faces stiff competition from Amazon which offers better "product range, price and convenience," according to a note from the broker.
Sports Direct is, in the minds of Berenberg's analysts, "most exposed to the threat from Amazon", with the US behemoth now the second-most visited UK sports retailer, armoured with partnerships with Nike and Adidas in the US.
Elsewhere, roadside assistance experts The AA continued to fall after dropping on Friday in the wake of a downgrade to 'underperform' by analysts at Credit Suisse, who also slashed the target price to 70p from 110p due to upcoming structural and regulatory challenges.
On the upside, miners and energy shares were the standout gainers as copper and oil prices rose, with Hunting, Premier, Tullow and Cairn Energy making strong gains as Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate rallied after Saudi Arabia said it would cut production by 500,000 barrels a day next month.
"Oil bears may well have seen the weekend headlines as an opportunity to top up positions, with the OPEC+ meeting at the start of December being of far more significance. As of yet, there doesn't seem to be much of a consensus on whether the market is as oversupplied as recent data suggests," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Defence contractor Babcock International rose after it responded to an attack from a mystery research firm, insisting that its relationship with the Ministry of Defence was "as strong as ever".
Accusations levied at the company from research firm Boatman, which has refused to disclose the identity of its board, say that Babcock "systematically misled investors by burying bad news about its performance", has "failed to win new business" and has "terrible" relations with main customer, the MoD, after problems with orders.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said although the response showed fight, "one has to question why it has taken Babcock nearly a month to go public on responding to the bear raid," as Boatman's criticisms had emerged in October.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,865.07 -1.26%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hunting (HTG) 666.00p 4.39%
Premier Oil (PMO) 102.70p 3.69%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 348.20p 2.84%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 616.60p 2.70%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 208.13p 2.17%
Meggitt (MGGT) 516.60p 1.85%
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 86.50p 1.41%
Avast (AVST) 293.15p 1.40%
Elementis (ELM) 204.80p 1.39%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 195.90p 1.29%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Sports Direct International (SPD) 292.90p -9.74%
Contour Global (GLO) 155.80p -6.76%
Inchcape (INCH) 550.50p -5.90%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 98.31p -5.47%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 281.50p -5.19%
AA (AA.) 95.06p -5.18%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,810.00p -4.84%
Workspace Group (WKP) 952.50p -4.42%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,605.00p -4.24%
BCA Marketplace (BCA) 204.00p -4.23%
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