London is still ranked 2nd most important global centre

In the week that London was once again crowned the 2nd most important financial centre in the world behind New York, Paris came a lowly 11th place. However, the ongoing £ struggles has seen London temporarily losing its position as Europe’s biggest stock market to Paris.! So how does that work out then..? Well it’s about exchange rates. So, when the £ recovers more against the € then the London Stock Market will regain its natural top spot.!!

Some of the top Stock Picks we have tracked this week at Stockomendation to highlight for you are a mix of buy, sell and holds.

1. UNDERPERFORM Aston Martin

The 1st highlighted stock pick we want to bring to your attention this week is UNDERPERFORM Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) by Jefferies with a stock pick performance of 12%.

Shares in the car manufacturer tumbled after Jefferies’ downgraded the rating to a moderate SELL from the previous HOLD recommendation placed in July and a brutal 77% reduction in target price to 120GBX. The change was based on a hike in operating costs & call for more capital amidst fears of an unsustainable operating structure. The announcement fulfils itself then with shares dumping 10% by the end of the day. Jefferies said AML is yet to achieve both “sales volumes and selling prices to become a ‘stand-alone business.’” Shares have lost 90% in the past year and despite headlines that luxury is resilient, supply chain issues for Aston Martin added to its woes.

Having floated at 4045GBX in 2018 shares are now at just 117GBX – after surviving for almost a century it seems the embattled sports car maker’s decline commenced at the time it listed on the London Stock Exchange – it’s all time high was at the time of listing.

Jefferies indicates that it is yet to achieve a sustainable model which for a 109-year-old company makes us wonder how long it’s supposed to take!

2. BUY Sage

Second interesting top stock pick this week was BUY Sage Group by Shore Capital with a stock pick performance of 8%.

The world’s third largest ERP software company headquartered in Tyneside shares rallied 6% on Wednesday, a 35% jump on 2022’s lowest point in July.

Shares have risen from the listing price of 8.71GBX in 1993 and are now at a sound 792. On Wednesday it reported revenue growth attributed to its Business Cloud division.

Sage has nearly reached the 794GBX target price called by Shore Capital back in 2019 – is it time to get ready for a higher target price? Exciting!

3. BUY Wood Group

Third interesting top stock pick this week was BUY Wood Group by Chris Bailey in ShareProphets with a stock pick performance of 7%.

Five analysts currently have a BUY rating on this stock and Citigroup increased their target price on Wednesday. The global Aberdeen engineering co has had a few woes but looks to be bouncing back if the ratings are anything to go by.

In September Wood won a $350m infrastructure maintenance contract from Shell and an insider bought $5,000 of stock. Canadian consultancy WSP bought the environment and infrastructure division for £1.8bn.

Currently trading at 158GBX, all the big banks have either named higher target prices or rated it as BUY. Watch this space!

Who will pick the Next Big Thing? Who knows but with Stockomendation new Fund Manager Short Positions feature you can join the best of the bears and find out what they’re selling.

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Disclaimer: The contents of this article should not be considered financial advice. Pricing data correct as at 17th November 2022..