BEST OF THE BROKERS
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS
JP Morgan (JPM) rates the hotel chain “overweight” with a target price of £16.72. The broker thinks a better-than-expected performance since the start of the year will make up for any impact from events such as the Japanese and New Zealand earthquakes, and keeps the firm as one of its top picks. The firm is a beneficiary of a slow US supply outlook, and there is scope for a return of capital to investors, JPM adds.
EXPERIAN
Credit Suisse rates the consumer credit group “neutral” with a target price of 860p. The broker forecasts a pre-tax profit of $959m (£560.7m) for the firm’s full-year results due on Thursday, though it expects organic growth to have slowed to 6.5 per cent towards the end of the year due to delays to its expansion in Brazil. Overall, Credit Suisse has lifted its forecasts for the next two years by four per cent.
ARM HOLDINGS
Evolution Securities has started covering the chip-maker with an “add” rating and a target price of 630p. The broker sees ARM repeating a pattern seen in previous standard-setters in the processor industry, with growth and share price rises expected over the next five years. Evo predicts a compound annual growth rate of 17 per cent for 2010-15 and thinks ARM will continue to easily surpass consensus estimates.