Gold Drops

Headlines say gold prices had the biggest fall in three years and all stock picks are 77% BUY, 13% HOLD and 10% SELL.

1. BUY Ibstock

Top performing stock pick this week is BUY Ibstock by Jefferies with a tip performance of 13% and HOLD Ibstock (IBST) by Tom Howard in The Times - Tempus (12%).

Ibstock plc is a British manufacturer of clay bricks and concrete products headquartered in Ibstock, Leicestershire. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Founded in 1899 as Ibstock Colleries, the company originates in the brickmaking trade within the village of Ibstock in Leicestershire.

Ibstock share price launched at 198p in 2015, rose to an all-time high of 320p in 2020 and is today at 134p.

Overall the embattled brick maker suffers from the poor economic climate and dwindling consumer confidence laden with threats of more taxes: factors weighing heavy on housebuilders.

On 20th October shares were up 8% with Jefferies reiterating its BUY rating and lowered the target price from 188p to 143p. Berenberg reiterated its HOLD rating and lowered its target price to 150p from 170p.

Five analysts in total with Tom Howard saying HOLD; RBC Capital with OUTPERFORM and Deutsche Bank with BUY. Seven open fund manager short positions, view those here.

2. OVERWEIGHT B&M European Value Retail

Second top performing stock pick this week is OVERWEIGHT B&M European Value Retail by Barclays and BUY B&M European Value Retail by Deutsche Bank with a tip performance of 8%.

B&M is a British multinational variety store and garden centre chain founded in 1978 and based in Speke. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. B&M is part of the Jersey-based B&M which operates the B&M stores in France.

B&M share price launched at 283p in 2014, rose to an all-time high of 640p in 2021 and is today at 183p.

In the news this week as an accounting error saw its market value plunge by a fifth. CFO Mike Schmidt failed to account for £7 million in freight costs. The error caused a £40 million downgrade in expectations and a profit warning (the second in a month).

In Stockomendation five analysts: three with BUY — they are Canaccord Genuity, Shore Capital and Deutsche Bank; Goldman Sachs is NEUTRAL and Barclays has OVERWEIGHT. Two open UK fund manager short positions, view those here.

3. BUY Whitbread

Third top stock pick this week is BUY Whitbread by UBS with a tip performance of 7%.

Whitbread is a British multinational hotel and restaurant company. Founded as a brewery in 1742, its largest division is currently Premier Inn, which is the largest hotel brand in the UK.

Whitbread is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Whitbread share price launched in 1948. In recent years its all-time high was 4,583p in 2015 and today it’s at 3,125p.

Whitbread announced the purchase of around 250,000 of its own ordinary shares as part of its ongoing share buy-back program initiated on 1 May 2025. The cancellation of these shares will increase the value of the company. Whitbread has 173,244,016 shares in issue with voting rights, as of September 30, 2025. This figure is calculated from the total of 185,698,734 ordinary shares in issue, with 12,454,718 being held in treasury.

In Stockomendation five analysts, three with BUY — they are UBS, Shore Capital and Peel Hunt; two with NEUTRAL being Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Five open fund manager short positions, view those here.

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Disclaimer: The contents of this article should not be considered financial advice. Pricing data correct as at 24th October 2025.