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Barclays switches to 'overweight' on Zoopla

Published: 09:27 05 Sep 2016 BST

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The likely strong trading of Zoopla's (LON:ZLPA) price comparison site uSwitch, which it bought last year, has prompted Barclays to issue an upgrade for the former.

Zoopla Property Group plc is upgraded to 'overweight' from 'equal weight'.

It also lifts the price target to  335p (previously 250p), with an upside case of 435p. The current price of shares is 327p.

"Near term, we think current trading for uSwitch is likely strong, leading to potential consensus upgrades. Beyond that, we see several sources of upside," said analyst Andrew Ross.

These are the  attractive long-term opportunity for uSwitch and the attractiveness of the recently acquired Property Software Group.

Thirdly, Barclays highlights the potential to drive synergies between Zoopla's businesses, which the market currently values at zero.

The broker does note however that an obvious risk for the group is a weaker UK property market.

Elsewhere, the same broker looks at luxury goods and repeats an 'equal weight' stance on handbag maker Mulberry Group Plc (LON:MUL), lifting the target to 1,080p from 1,000p.

Jimmy Choo PLC (LON:CHOO) has its 'equalweight' stance repeated and target lifted marginally to 120p from 110p.

"The old buzz word of 'elevating' the brand has been replaced with 'extending the range', highlighting a greater focus on the entry level price points, with demand increasing for a more fashion-forward and individualistic styling. We believe this has led to more volatile trading patterns...," said Barclays.

Deutsche has put its strong specs on and looked at the UK banking sector today, grabbing a red pen in the process.

Lloyds (LON:LLOY) is cut to 'hold' from 'buy' and the target reduced by a penny to 59p. RBS (LON:RBS) is slashed to 'sell' from 'hold' and the target cut to 170p from 200p.

Challenger Aldermore Group PLC (LON:ALD) however is upgraded to 'buy' from 'hold' and the target lifted to 188p from 170p.

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