FTSE 100 movers: Auto Trader rallies on broker note; NMC Health slumps again
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 24 Jan 2020
(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 1.1% at 7,592.90 in afternoon trade on Friday.
Auto Trader was the standout gainer after Morgan Stanley reiterated its 'overweight' rating on the stock and lifted the price target to 650p from 560p.
"Auto Trader has a plethora of opportunities from new revenue streams over the long term, while we think market continues to overestimate competitive threat. Shorter term Auto Trader is a good way to play a UK macro recovery," it said.
On the downside, NMC Health was under the cosh after Dubai's Emirates NBD Bank sold just under 2.2 million shares in the UAE healthcare provider in a placing. Emirates NBN sold 2.16m shares at £12.50 per share, raising gross proceeds of around £27.05m.
Earlier this month, the stock came pressure after two controlling shareholders sold a £375m stake in the company at a discounted price. Saeed Al Qebaisi and Khaleefa Al Muhairi sold 31.2m shares in NMC, or a stake of around 15%, at £12 per share. This presented a discount of around 20% to the last closing price.
Just Eat was weaker as Dutch food delivery service Takeaway.com said it will delay the timetable for the £6bn merger with its London-listed rival by a week after the Competition and Markets Authority said it plans to investigate the deal. The UK competition watchdog announced late on Thursday that it was considering whether the deal would lead to a "substantial lessening" of competition.
Elsewhere, Rightmove was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' at Morgan Stanley.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 603.00p 4.72%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 484.30p 3.57%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,839.50p 3.55%
Experian (EXPN) 2,709.00p 3.52%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 226.70p 3.47%
Next (NXT) 7,278.00p 3.23%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 187.45p 2.88%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,515.00p 2.78%
Tesco (TSCO) 249.70p 2.76%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 58.95p 2.70%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
NMC Health (NMC) 1,365.00p -2.81%
Just Eat (JE.) 860.60p -2.27%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,736.00p -0.07%
BT Group (BT.A) 171.14p 0.08%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,778.80p 0.12%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 842.60p 0.43%
Rightmove (RMV) 674.40p 0.48%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,858.00p 0.50%
DCC (DCC) 6,384.00p 0.54%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,945.40p 0.54%
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