MARKET REPORT: Barclays upgrade revs up shares in Aston Martin with luxury car maker expected to post second quarter profits of £41m

Aston Martin topped the FTSE 250 standings as analysts took a positive view of the outlook.

In a note to clients, Barclays said it expects the luxury car maker – which makes James Bond’s vehicle of choice – to post a £41m profit in the second quarter next week.

That would be more than the £30 million implied by Aston Martin’s own guidance. Barclays also said it now views Aston Martin as a less risky bet for investors.

As a result, Barclays maintained its overweight rating on the stock and raised its price target from 300 pence to 375 pence.

Shares, which have more than doubled so far this year, gained 3.7 percent, or 11.6p, to 329.4p.

Concerns about new economic data out of China weighed on the London stock market, with the FTSE 100 falling 0.4 percent or 28.15 points to 7406.42 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.9 percent or 162.38 points to 18404.43.

And the price of oil retreated and Brent oil fell back towards $79 a barrel.

Chemical group Johnson Matthey was on the rise after a positive note from the broker. Deutsche Bank Research upgraded its rating for the blue-chip stock from “buy” to “hold” and raised its price target from 2,300p to 2,500p.

That is in contrast to Bernstein analysts, who named Johnson Matthey as one of the companies in the European chemicals sector likely to issue further profit warnings.

The broker lowered his target price on the stock from 1900p to 1800p. Despite this, shares rose 0.7 percent, or 11.5 pence, to 1,765.5 pence.

Shares of Wetherspoons fell 1 percent, or 7p, to 703.5p, despite Jefferies raising the pub chain’s price target from 850p to 900p.

Stock watch – Dianami

Dianomi shares hit a record low after it warned earnings will be lower than hoped.

The advertising platform places advertisements on websites such as Reuters, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.

But traffic at major publishers fell between 10 and 30 percent in the six months to the end of June.

As a result, Dianomi forecasts revenue of between £30.5m and £32.5m for 2023, below market expectations, down from £35.9m in 2022.

Shares fell 40.8 percent, or 32 pence, to 46.5 pence.

Review website Trustpilot has appointed former Just Eat chief operating officer Adrian Blair as boss, four months after founder Peter Holten Muhlmann indicated that he wanted to take on a different role within the group.

Trustpilot shares fell 0.8 percent, or 0.6 pence, to 76.9 pence.

Tullow Oil rose 9.1 percent, or 2.82 pence, to 33.76 pence after Ghana’s Jubilee field hit a milestone of producing more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

The goal was achieved with the help of the Jubilee South East project in Ghana, which began production on Friday.

Costain rose 1.7 percent, or 0.8 pence, to 48 pence after his contract to provide management and asset maintenance activities in the Northwest was extended for two years.

The construction and engineering firm was selected by United Utilities in 2019 (0.06 percent, or 0.6 pence, to 951.6 pence) as its managed service provider through May 2024.

The deal now runs until May 2026, with an option for a further three years. Outgoing Brickability boss Alan Simpson insisted that long-term demand for housing and construction materials “remains robust” after a strong financial year.

The group, which supplies more than 500 million bricks each year, saw its turnover rise 30.9 per cent to £681.1 million in the 12 months to the end of March, while profits rose 87.5 per cent to £34.5 million.

In May, the group announced that Simpson, who has worked with the group for 36 years, will hand over the reins to Frank Hanna, the joint CEO of brick maker Michelmersh (flat at 92 pence).

Brickability shares rose 2.4 percent, or 1.3 pence, to 56.5 pence.

Ladbrokes owner Entain owner has agreed to buy a US data company for up to £203 million as it aims further expansion across the Atlantic.

Entain said it would buy Angstrom Sports – a sports modeling, forecasting and data analytics company – for an initial £81m with further payments of £122m over three years.

However, Entain shares lost 1.6 percent, or 20.5p, to 1252p.