| From UK-Analyst.com: Monday 5th August 2013 IMPORTANT: Are your UK-Analyst emails being delayed? Add UK-Analyst@news.t1ps.com to your safe senders/contact list to help resolve the problem The Markets At the London close the Dow Jones was down by 51.14 points at 15,607.45 and the Nasdaq was down by 6.37 points at 3,137.15. In London the FTSE 100 was down by 28.29 points at 6,619.58, the FTSE 250 grew by 65.21 points to 15,197.18 and the FTSE All-Share slid by 10.34 points to 3,520.83. On the first day that AIM shares were eligible to be included in ISAs the FTSE AIM Index closed up by 7.55 points at 731.44. ADVERTISEMENT 
Fracking - fear or the future? Click here to download your complimentary report now. Losses can exceed deposits Broker Notes Following recent interim results broker WH Ireland downgraded its stance on engine maker Rolls Royce (RR.), to "Market Perform". The broker argues that on a multiple of 17.6 times 2013 earnings and yielding 1.6% the current valuation suggests the shares are fully valued. WH Ireland also notes that risks include a weakening of the US dollar and further appreciation of raw material costs, along with a slowdown in civil aerospace engine deliveries and a significant reduction in US defence spending. Rolls Royce shares closed down by 4p at 1,185p. Following a recent site visit Daniel Stewart sees 167% upside in shares of Beximco Pharma (BXP). The broker recently visited the group's key sites in Bangladesh and was impressed by the scale and quality of the operations. In particular, Daniel Stewart notes that the groupÂÂ's facilities have undergone successful audits by several foreign regulatory bodies which have granted the company approval to sell their products into their respective territories. Applying a discount rate of 10%, the broker's discounted cash flow analysis results in a "conservative" fair value of 41p per share. Beximco shares closed down by 0.125p at 14.375p. Canaccord Genuity sees greater scope for capital return from insurer Direct Line (DLG), after the recent positive first half results. The broker has increased its 2013 forecasts after the interims beat expectations and believes that the core investment case remains around the firm's self-help strategy based on cost reduction, with a targeted 130 million pound improvement to the cost base by end-2014. Canaccord is also encouraged to see the group’s commitment to capital return and thinks there is scope to return north of 50 million pounds, or 3p per share, at the year end. The broker has a "buy" stance and 260p target on the shares, which closed the day down by 3.6p at 232.6p. 
Blue-Chips Outsourcing giant Serco (SRP) has been awarded a contract by the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide processing support for new health benefit exchanges. Under the deal Serco will provide and manage labour to review, verify and process applications on a `cost-plus-fixed-fee' basis. The contract also has a one-year base period valued at approximately $115 million with further four one-year options, giving a potential total contract value of approximately $1.25 billion. Serco shares inched up by 2.5p to 638p. In the latest set of upbeat results from the banking sector HSBC (HSBA) reported an underlying pre-tax profit of $13.1 billion for the first half of 2013, up by 10%. The numbers were driven by higher revenues, lower loan impairment charges and lower operating expenses. There was a particularly strong performance from Asia in the period, with pre-tax profits from Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific (exc. Hong Kong) up by 30% and 36% respectively. Europe experienced a dramatic turnaround, making profits of $2.77 billion, from a loss of $667 million in the first half of 2012. A second interim dividend of $0.10 per share was announced. HSBC shares closed down by 33p at 721.7p however, as the numbers were slightly below analyst expectations. Mid Caps Ultra Electronics (ULE), the electronic systems provider, saw underlying pre-tax profits edge up by 0.7% to 55.4 million in the six months to June. The group spoke of a "steady" performance in the period, with security & cyber, transport and nuclear energy markets, seeing good trading. The firm added that it is bidding on a number of larger contracts that, if won, could provide additional medium-term growth, although at present the timing of these is uncertain. The firm also increased its interim dividend by 4.1% to 12.7p per share. Investors reacted by sending the shares up by 45p to 1,886p. Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty (BBY) has been appointed preferred bidder for a mixed-use development contract with the University of West Florida that has an estimated value at completion of 330 million pounds. The two part project is expected to cover a range of facilities including student accommodation, a student union, football stadium, parking structure and plaza. The development will also include a senior living community focussed at retired faculty and persons affiliated with the university. The project will be delivered in phases over a 10-year period, with the first phase expected to reach financial close in 2014. Balfour Beatty shares slipped by 0.4p to 251.4p. Alent (ALNT) the performance materials supplier, posted adjusted pre-tax profits down by 3.1% at 41.1 million pounds for the six months to June. In reaction the shares fell by 8.1p to 368.9p. Challenging end markets were blamed for the modest downfall, although Alent spoke of a "solid" performance for the period. The dividend was increased by 5.1% to 2.89p per share. In the second half the company expects an improvement on the back of the normal seasonal cycle in electronics and new product launches from its customers. Small Caps On an eventful day on the AIM market shares in accident repair management services business Nationwide Accident Repair Services (NARS) slumped by 10.5p to 56.5p after the firm announced a profits warning. The firm flagged that tough conditions in the accident repair marketplace have put pressure on margins, with profit before tax for the six months to June behind at c.1.4 million pounds despite revenues being in line at 79 million pounds. In reaction, the company has adopted a number of measures to enhance operational efficiency and sales performance. In addition, the firm's level of dividend payments are being put under review. Broker Westhouse slashed its pre-tax profit forecast for 2013 from 5.2 million to 3 million pounds on the back of the update, and also cut its target price from 95p to 80p. Doing rather better was online fashion business ASOS (ASC), shares in which soared by 239p to an all time high of 5,019p. The investors dream is now capitalised at 4.13 billion pounds, which means that if the firm were to be listed on London's main board it would be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE 100. Investors who bought the shares at 3.25p in August 2003 are now standing on gains of 154,330%! Despite not releasing any news, shares in assistance and insurance products provider CPP (CPP) rocketed by 12.75p to 29p, briefly touching 30p before lunch. The rise seems to have been caused due to the fact that many traders with short-positions on the stock have been squeezed out by margin calls. CPP has been a popular stock to short in recent months after the company experienced severe debt issues and after majority shareholder Hamish Ogston made an indicative bid for the troubled firm at 1p per share. However, the shares began to recover last month after the firm announced new banking facilities and agreed to defer commission payments to certain business partners. It only goes to show that in the world of investment there's no such thing as a slam-dunk free money opportunity. Spatial data business 1Spatial (SPA) has won a deal with the municipalities of Rabat, Tangier and Tetouan in Morocco for its Elyx 3D Smart City product to manage the water, sewage and electricity networks. The deal was won by the STAR-APIC division, which provides Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, and was acquired by 1Spatial in June. 1Spatial shares edged up by 0.25p, closing at 8.25p. Also announcing a contract win was nanotechnology and advanced materials company Graphene NanoChem (GRPH). Subsidiary Platinum NanoChem has been awarded a three-year contract with Chevron Malaysia for the supply of PlatAmber, the group's biofuel product derived from palm waste for the Malaysian market, used as an additive into road-grade diesel. The shares soared by 11.25p to 72p. ADVERTISEMENT Get free trading guides from Evil Knievil (How to successfully short stocks), Zak Mir (Top AIM market picks for 2013) and other top financial commentators by CLICKING HERE 
Shares in self-storage business Lok'nStore (LOK) closed up by 8.5p at 144.5p after the firm announced a positive trading update for the year to July. The company said that self-storage occupancy rose by 10% on last year and that it saw a record number of monthly move-ins across the portfolio in July on pricing at just under 0.5% lower than last year. The shares currently yield an expected 3.9% for 2013. Healthcare software business EMIS (EMIS) has acquired Digital Healthcare Limited, a provider of diabetic retinopathy screening and other ophthalmology-related solutions to community clinics, mobile units, specialist ophthalmology departments and practitioners. Net of cash, EMIS bought the business for 3.1 million pounds, payable in cash from existing resources.  Based in Cambridge, in the year to 30th September 2012, Digital Healthcare made a profit before tax of c.0.1 million pounds on revenues of 3.4 million pounds. The deal is expected to be earnings enhancing in a first full year of ownership. EMIS shares slipped by 6p to 763p. Also making an acquisition was video search engine owner Blinkx (BLNX).The firm has bought assets of Grab Media, an online video content syndication and advertising platform. For Blinkx, the deal is expected to add incremental audience and augment its relationships with advertisers, publishers and content providers, although is not expected to have a material impact on revenues or costs in the near-term. The price of the acquisition was not revealed. Blinkx shares added 2.5p to close at 139.75p. Noble Investments (NBL), the collectables trader, responded to recent share price weakness by stating that trading is continuing satisfactorily, with activity since the interim results were released on 29th May meeting management's expectations. The firm said that it has a healthy flow of consignments of collectibles for auction during the remainder of 2013 and in to 2014. In addition, Noble is pleased with the progress of integrating the recently acquired Dreweatts and Bloomsbury Auctions businesses with its other auction activities. Shares in Noble gained 9.5p to close at 208.5p. | 
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