14:20 Tethys Petroleum financial position still precarious
Sam Wahab, analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, described today’s update from Tethys Petroleum as ‘positive overall’, though he highlights the company still needs to secure additional finance.
Tethys this morning revealed is best month of production for nearly two years, and told investors that it had reached an amicable agreement over loans from SinoHan after previously proposed funding deal expired without completing.
The company currently in negotiations over a potential longer term funding with Kazakh group AGR Energy, though the proposed deadline for exclusivity ends after tomorrow.
Read more about Tethys, and the latest update from the Kazakh oil and gas firm here
12:30 Broker Spotlight pt 2 – Angle Plc, ReNeuron, Sirius Minerals, Mariana Resources
Navid Malik, head of life science research at Cenkos Securities, published a note on Angle Plc (LON:AGL) which today revealed results from a study by Barts Cancer Institute (BCI) using Angle’s Partsortix device to capture and identify different types of prostate cancer cells.
The data is described as “excellent” by Malik, who also highlighted that Parsortix is the first system to be able to do this. “If BCI’s work is successful there is now the potential for ANGLE to develop clinical applications for prostate cancer as well as ovarian cancer,” the analyst said.
Read more about the Angle, BCI and Partsortix breakthrough here
Malik, meanwhile, also says ReNeuron’s (LON:RENE) new senior management appoints – a new chief medical advisor and a new head of regulatory affairs – will facilitate clinical development.
The hires also strengthen strengthening the skills and experience of the management team, the analyst added.
Read more about ReNeuron’s management changes here
WH Ireland analyst Paul Smith, having waded through a mass of planning reports released yesterday, has come to the conclusion that the basis of Sirius Minerals’ (LON:SXX) planning application was sound and it meets policy requirements.
The analyst looks ahead to the important date of June 30, which is when the planning committee meets to make a decision about the project.
“When combined with the Section 106 payments to the area to mitigate for the development and the funding of the York Potash Foundation there are considerable benefits for both the visitors and the people who live and work in the area,” Smith said.
Read more about Sirius Minerals and the planning for the flagship York Potash project here
Dr Ryan Long, analyst at Northland Capital, says Mariana Resources’ (LON:MARL) plans to ‘farm-out’ the Doña Ines and Exploradora East projects makes sense, due to what he describes as the exceptional Hot Maden project.
“Mariana benefits from any upside at the projects should a discovery be made and also means that the Company will only have a minimal financial commitment,” Long said.
Read more about Mariana, Hot Maden and its exploration plans here
10:30am: Broker Spotlight – Royal Mail, RBS, Sainsbury, FirstGroup, Majestic Wines
Is it a case of good riddance? As George Osborne’s plans to sell the government’s holdings in Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and Royal Mail (LON:RMG) are confirmed, JP Morgan Cazenove is upgrading its rating of the latter to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’.
Elsewhere, Investec said the Chancellor’s exit of RBS was widely expected and as such the Mansion House speech was ‘largely symbolic’.
The initial sell down of the government’s 79% majority stake in the bailed-out bank will be small, according to Investec analyst Ian Gordon, who also says the stake could be sold during 2015.
Investec rates RBS as a ‘buy’, with a 395p price target.
“We think that the timing of last night’s announcement was arguably somewhat premature, dictated more by politics rather than, necessarily, an exercise in optimising market timing,” Gordon said.
“That said, we continue to believe that the RBS share price will see support on a 12 month view from the emergence of a material capital surplus and a return to (reported) profit in 2016e.”
Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) was upgraded to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ by Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Mike Dennis who reckons the UK supermarket stock may now be seeing the bottom of the cycle.
Dennis, who has a 312p price target, retained a top-of-the-range £605mln forecast for the group’s pre-tax profits and he also highlights the support of a 4.4% dividend yield.
Sainsbury yesterday revealed a further dip in sales, again blaming completion from discount rivals.
Elsewhere, Barclays Capital upgraded its target price for FirstGroup (LON:FGP) to 130p from 110p, and repeated an ‘equal weight’ rating.
And, Liberum Capital upgraded Majestic Wine (LON:MJW) to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ and said the new acquisition of Naked Wines is transformational for the group, the business model and the investment case.