BEST OF THE BROKERS
GLAXOSMITHKLINE
Citi Group Global Markets maintains a “buy” recommendation on drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as it says the group’s sustained delivery of top-line growth should allow expansion into a number of treatments. Citi remains bullish on GSK’s opportunity to drive revenue growth through the consumer business.
BP
Despite the Macondo spill, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoA) has issued a “buy” recommendation for oil giant BP. BoA says the oil company had a solid first quarter. Offset by BoA’s estimation that Macondo will cost $500m (£326m), it raises its 2010-2012 earnings per share estimates by an average four per cent.
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Morgan Stanley says Royal Dutch Shell is “underweight”. The bank says that Shell’s key metrics are comparable to BP, in terms of key details across exploration and production, LNG and Chemicals. It highlights volume growth of six per cent year-on-year, which it says means Shell’s guidance of “broadly flat” for 2010 is “conservative”.