Darktrace Shares Upgraded at Piper Sandler

Upgrades/Downgrades:

Relx was downgraded to Neutral from Buy by Citi analyst Thomas Singlehurst Thursday. Singlehurts, who set a 2,450p price target on the stock, said he believes a complete or partial sale of Exhibitions “could drive another leg in performance but are not convinced RELX management will carry through.”

Piper Sandler analyst Rob Owens upgraded Darktrace to Overweight from Neutral. However, the analyst set a price target of 600p, down from 900p. Owens told investors in a research note that many of the demand drivers that positively impacted cybersecurity spending in 2021 remain in play as we enter 2022. He added there is a “relatively optimistic” IT spending outlook with security prioritisation forecasted to continue in 2022.

Also See: 3 Dividend Stocks For 2022

Bernstein's Gunther Zechmann downgraded Johnson Matthey to Market Perform from Outperform, lowering his price target to 2,500p from 4,100p. Zechmann explained that the company is currently in a “strategy vacuum” until the new CEO starts in March.

Berenberg analyst Owen Shirley upgraded WH Smith to Buy from Hold, increasing his price target to 1,900p from 1,750p.

Shirley also upgraded Restaurant Group to Buy from Hold, increasing the price target to 125p, up from 110p.

However, the Berenberg analyst downgraded J D Wetherspoon to Hold from Buy with a price target of 1,050p, down from 1,650p.

Price Target Changes:

Deutsche Bank analyst Rhea Shah increased the price target on St. James's Place to 1,860p from 1,800p, maintaining a Buy rating.

Shah also raised the price target on Hargreaves Lansdown to 1,650p from 1,590p, keeping a Hold rating.

Deutsche Bank analyst Oliver Steel maintained a Hold rating on M&G but boosted the price target to 230p from 220p.

Hadley Cohen, also at Deutsche Bank, lifted the firm's price target on Admiral Group to 2,900p from 2,850p, keeping a Hold rating.

Morgan Stanley's analyst Pinar Ergun increased the price target on Diageo to 4,550p from 4,400p and kept an Overweight rating.

Barclays analyst Mark McVicar raised the price target on Royal Mail to 640p from 550p, maintaining an Overweight rating.

Barclays analyst Nick Dempsey kept an Overweight rating on Ascential but lowered the price target to 490p from 500p.