Borrowed Time

Headlines say Public sector pay fuels unexpected rise in government borrowing and all stock picks are a mix of 79% BUY, 9% HOLD and 12% SELL.

1. UNDERWEIGHT Vistry Group

Top performing stock pick this week is UNDERWEIGHT Vistry Group by Barclays with a tip performance of 12%.

Vistry Group, formerly Bovis Homes Group, is a British home construction company. Bovis Homes acquired Galliford Try's housing arm in January 2020 and renamed the combined business Vistry. Listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker VTY, Vistry is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It is one of the biggest housebuilders in the UK.

Vistry Group share price launched in 1997 at 181p, rose to an all-time high of 1,459p in 2020 and is today at 641p.

On Wednesday 20th it announced in this RNS a directorate change that ousts COO Earl Sibley due to major accounting mistake that will reduce profits by £165million and has seen the FTSE 100 firm’s share price tank by half in a month. It was the top read pre market RNS of the day. Added to this are shareholder fears that the ‘Executive Chair’ acting as CEO and Chair has too much control.

Soft sell recommendation from Barclays and the tip placed on 18 November that performed 12 12%.

Five different opinions by five analysts in Stockomendation they are: Barclays with UNDERWEIGHT, JP Morgan with NEUTRAL, Citi with NEUTRAL, UBS with SELL and Deutsche Bank says BUY. Two active UK Fund Manager Short Positions currently open, view those here.

2. SELL Ricardo

Second top performing stock pick this week is SELL Ricardo by Russ Mould in The Telegraph - Questor with a tip performance of 8%.

Ricardo PLC is a British consultancy that provides engineering, environmental and strategic services. Founded in 1915, Ricardo is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Ricardo share price launched at 79p in 1991, reached an all-time high of 1,040p in 2018 and is today at 389p.

In his article Russ Mould renegs on his September BUY tip and says due to uncertain details of future decisions, for example putting its profitable defence operation up for sale, he has reached ‘the end of the road with Ricardo.’

In Stockomendation two out of three analysts say SELL they are Russ Mould and Shore Capital, and Tom Winnifrith says HOLD.

3. BUY Judges Scientific

Third interesting stock pick this week is BUY Judges Scientific by Jefferies with a tip performance of 6%

Judges Scientific acquires and develops scientific instrument businesses. They sell their products to higher education institutions, scientific communities, manufacturers, and regulatory authorities. Founded in 2002, Judges Scientific has around 25 businesses including Fire Testing Technology, fiberoptics, UHV Design and Scientifica.

Judges Scientific share price launched at 103p in 2003, rose to an all-time high of 12,000p in 2024.

On 18 November the company issued a Trading Update in this RNS revealing that orders that it was relying on to meet market expectations would no longer be delivered in time. Jefferies issued the tip after the fallout from the trading update, with the share price regaining slightly post crash.

In Stockomendation five analysts: Berenberg and Jefferies say BUY, Christopher Ruane of The Motley Fool and Robert Stephens from the Telegraph say ADD and Steve Moore says AVOID. There is one open UK Fund Manager Short Position, view that here.

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Disclaimer: The contents of this article should not be considered financial advice. Pricing data correct as at 22th November 2024.