Dark Tunnel

Headlines say there is still no light at the end of the economic tunnel despite 0.1% GDP increase and all stock picks are a mix of 74% BUY, 10% HOLD and 16% SELL

1. BUY JD Sport

Top performing stock pick this week is BUY JD Sports Fashion by Goldman Sachs with a tip performance of 6%.

JD Sports is a British multinational sports-fashion retail company based in Manchester. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, JD Sports is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

JD Sports share price launched at 3p in 1996, rose to an all-time high of 233p in 2021 and is today at 87p.

In her article Times columnist Lauren Almeida positions JD Sports as a discounted stock with potential.

In Stockomendation two out of five analysts say BUY they are Goldman Sachs and James Beard, Almeida has HOLD whislt Exane and Citi say WATCH. There are three open fund manager short positions, view those here.

2. BUY Warpaint London

Second top performing stock pick this week is BUY Warpaint London by Berenberg with a tip performance of 3%.

Warpaint London is a UK-based company that sells cosmetics under the brands W7, Technic, Man'stuff, Body Collection, and Chit Chat.

Warpaint share price launched at 126p in 2016, rose to an all-time high of 632p in 2024 and is today at 405p.

The trading update of 6 February was the top read pre-market RNS and stated positive trading performance, view that here.

Berenberg slightly upped the target price from 680p to 700p on Monday and reiterated the BUY rating.

In Stockomendation three out of four analysts say BUY they are Berenberg, Harvey Jones and Harshil Patel and Steve Moore says WATCH. There are no active fund manager short positions open.

3. SELL Drax

Third top performing stock pick this week is SELL Drax Group by Citi with a tip performance of 2%.

Drax Group is a power generation business with main operations being the Drax power station near Selby in North Yorkshire. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Drax produces 5% of the UK’s electricity by burning biomass but would not be financially viable without Government subsidies.

Drax share price launched at 496p in 2005, rose to an all-time high of 918p in 2006 and is today at 631p.

On Tuesday Citi reiterated its SELL rating whilst JP Morgan issued an OVERWEIGHT rating and upped the tagret price to 900p from 850p.

Drax is at the centre of a wood-burning scandal that saw it lose its Government subsidies due to controversy about the source of its biomass fuel and criticism over the source of its fuel some of which comes from forests in North America and for mis-reporting about its use of primary and old growth forests.

In Stockomendation four analysts with four different ratings they are JP Morgan with OVERWEIGHT, Citi with SELL, Jefferies says BUY and HSBC has HOLD. In Stockomendation five open 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 13th February 2025.