Next shares race up FTSE 100 after JPMorgan lifts rating to 'overweight'

LONDON (ShareCast) - UK high street retailer Next (Other OTC: NXGPF - news) raced up the FTSE 100 index on Wednesday with shares up 2% in early trade after JPMorgan (LSE: JPIU.L - news) lifted its rating on the company to 'overweight' from 'neutral'. While JPMorgan favours Marks & Spencer (Other OTC: MAKSF - news) stock on three-to-six month view for its ongoing turnaround potential, the US investment bank sees scope for Next to recover some of its recent underperformance (stock down 13% year-to-date) between now and its upcoming trading update on 29 April.

"We think that the more favourable weather since Next last updated the market on 19 March, assisted by the favourable UK consumer background, should have led to stronger trading in the second half of the first quarter next year," said JPMorgan.

More fundamentally, JPMorgan thinks that market concerns about Next's core UK Directory business going through slow growth are overdone, as strong growth of UK customer numbers suggesting good underlying momentum.

"Moreover, we believe that any slowdown will be largely offset by reduced cannibalisation in the retail business and by growth elsewhere in online business," added JPMorgan.

As such, the bank lifted its target price on Next to 7700p from 7100p.

Traders also highlighted a report in the Daily Mail on Wednesday which said Next chief executive Lord Wolfson has told staff he will give up his bonus next year to help subsidise a 5% pay rise for his shop workers.

Wolfson, a Tory peer has said that the retail giant will increase the entry level wage for 20,000 staff from £6.70 an hour to £7.24 and has volunteered to fund this, in part, through his own pay reward.

"We will again increase standard entry level wages by at least 5% in our annual October wage review," said Wolfson in a letter to Next workers, seen by the Mail.