LONDON (ShareCast) - Seymour Pierce has reiterated its 'hold' rating and 1,200p target price for luxury brand Burberry ahead of the group's pre-close trading update for the second quarter on Thursday.

"While other luxury players have also spoken about a slowdown, there is concern from some quarters that there is a brand issue and management has pushed some of its prices too high," analyst Kate Calvert said.

"Ultimately, this slowdown is nothing like the brick wall that impacted the sector in 2008 when the financial crisis hit. Indeed, Burberry is in a much stronger position, brand and infrastructure wise, to react to a slowdown given recent systems investment so is unlikely to have the same stock issues. However, we can not see Burberry’s shares performing until there is better news on demand."

Panmure Gordon has retained its 'buy' rating and 163p target price for FTSE 250 mining group Aquarius Platinum (AQP), but says that Monday's change in leadership presents a 'further challenge for the company already facing difficult market conditions'.

Analyst Alison Turner said that the company must "navigate the current precarious labour relations environment […] and the pressures on its balance sheet in the absence of a CEO".

Shares in Cookson sank on Monday after the materials science group warned about weaker trading in the Engineered Ceramics division, which will lead to consensus downgrades, according to Investec.

"Ahead of a conference call that could bring greater clarity, we estimate that consensus EPS estimates are likely to fall by over 10% (but maybe by less than 15%), which is likely to have a negative impact on valuation," the broker said.

BC

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