Budget for growth

Chancellor unveils a "Budget for growth" and all stock picks are a mix of 8% HOLD, 83% BUY and 9% SELL.

1. SELL MusicMagpie

Top interesting stock pick this week is SELL MusicMagpie by Tom Winnifrith in ShareProphets with a tip performance of 13%.

Founded in 2007, MusicMagpie is a technology recycling company that buys old smartphones, tablets, consoles, personal computers, wearables and resells them.

The big news this week is that MusicMagpie is looking for a buyer just two years after going public. MusicMagpie share price launched at 198p in 2021 and is now at 19p. This means that the value of the company now is just £20m, 10% of its original listing value of £200m.

The company itself has announced that BT and another buyer are interested but for now Winnifrith is sceptical of the company's future in his article stating balance sheet woes and reduction in the price of refurbished phones.

Two out of two analysts in Stockomendation divided with Tom Winnifrith saying SELL and Shore Capital saying BUY. There are no active short positions open.

2. AVOID Velocys

Second interesting stock pick this week is AVOID Velocys plc by Steve Moore in ShareProphets with a tip performance of 5%.

Velocys, a spinout from University of Oxford technology Oxford Catalysts, floated on The London Stock Exchange in 2006. It develops sustainable fuels for the airline industry.

Velocys share price listed at 198p in 2006, reached an all-time high of 201p in 2014 and is today at an all-time low of just 0.26p.

Shares tumbled on Monday 20th November at the announcement of a possible takeover at a 'considerable discount' to the current share price (0.25p per share valuing the business at £4.1 million). Velocys needs cash and the new buyer will have to provide significant funding for it to meet its long-term growth capital targets.

Four analysts with four different ratings in Stockomendation they are Liberum Capital with BUY, Royston Wild with LONG TERM BUY, Steve Moore with SELL and Dan Appleby with WATCH. There are no active short positions open.

3. HOLD Ocado Group

Third interesting stock pick this week is HOLD Ocado Group by Jefferies with a tip performance of 4%.

Ocado group licenses grocery technology which started trading as a business within Waitrose in 2002.

Ocado share price listed at 159p in 2002, rose to an all-time high of 2,819p in 2020 and is now at 563p. Last week it announced a possible sale of its robotic warehouse technology to a large Canadian pharmaceutical firm at which shares rose almost 6%.

This week on Monday Jefferies reduced the target price to £5.75 from £7.50 and maintained its hold rating. Shares fell on Tuesday and rose on Wednesday so it's been a bit up and down and we wait to hear what's in store for Ocado.

In Stockomendation five analysts with five different opinions being Jefferies with HOLD, Barclays with UNDERWEIGHT, Ben McPoland with ADD, Edward Sheldon with BUY and RBC Capital with UNDERPERFORM. There are thirteen short positions currently open in Stockomendation.

Featured Image : Tomjhpage via Wikimedia Commons licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

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Disclaimer: The contents of this article should not be considered financial advice. Pricing data correct as at 23rd Novmeber 2023.