FTSE 250 movers: Tate & Lyle in a sweet spot, but Poundland tumbles

LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - London's FTSE 250 index was down 0.8% to 16,522.30 at 1524 BST, in line with the broader market. Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE.L - news) was in a sweet spot after Liberum upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'sell' and lifted its price target to 670p from 505p. "While history is disappointing - four profit warnings and a collapse of around 40% in pre-tax profits since full-year 2014 - we see early signs of change and scope for significant upside," the broker said.

The analysts said full-year 2016 will prove an inflection point and forecasts a 16% rebound in full-year 2017 pre-tax profit as one-off items drop out and new Speciality Food Ingredients capacity comes online.

Tour operator Thomas Cook (Xetra: A0MR3W - news) was also on the front foot after the company said it had a positive end to the financial year and an encouraging start to winter trading. In a trading statement ahead of its results, the group announced that 2015 summer holiday sales were 91% sold - in line with expectations and at the same level as 2014.

On the downside, shares in Poundland tumbled after the company unveiled plans to raise £50m to finance the purchase of rival retail chain 99p Stores, and warned that first-half profits in the current year would be lower on the back of weaker like-for-like sales and store expansion costs.

Euromoney Institutional Investor was under the cosh after management announced that tough conditions in commodities markets will result in a 1% fall in full-year revenues and an adjusted profit before tax of £107m compared with £116.2m in 2014. Headline revenues for the fourth quarter are expected to show a 5% decrease on the same period last year, and an underlying decrease, at constant currency and excluding acquisitions and disposals, of 7%, Euromoney said.

Allied Minds (Other OTC: ALLWF - news) continued to suffer heavy losses after New York-based hedge fund Kerrisdale Capital slammed the company on Tuesday, saying it was "a dressed-up collection of high-risk, low-reward gambles".

Kerrisdale said: "Allied Minds has not sold any of its portfolio companies, has not taken a single one public, has not generated any material licensing revenues from its intellectual property, and has produced negligible revenue even from its 'mature' subsidiaries." Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Drax fell sharply as it went ex-dividend.

Risers Evraz (EVR) 68.55p +4.98% Tate & Lyle (TATE) 578.00p +4.81% Mitchells & Butlers (LSE: MAB.L - news) (MAB) 342.00p +2.70% Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 118.80p +2.50% Genus (GNS) 1,453.00p +2.25% AO World (Other OTC: AOWDF - news) (AO.) 160.10p +2.17% Enterprise Inns (LSE: ETI.L - news) (ETI) 112.60p +1.90% Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 208.70p +1.90% Just Eat (Other OTC: JSTLF - news) (JE.) 385.60p +1.74% Synergy Health (Other OTC: SYHEF - news) (SYR) 1,589.00p +1.53% Fallers Allied Minds (ALM) 375.00p -14.97% Poundland Group (Other OTC: PDLDF - news) (PLND) 275.00p -11.18% Petra Diamonds Ltd (LSE: PDL.L - news) .(DI (KSE: 003160.KS - news) ) (PDL) 90.15p -8.94% Drax Group (LSE: DRX.L - news) (DRX) 237.90p -8.25% Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW.L - news) (TLW) 168.10p -6.46% Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,015.00p -4.61% Morgan Advanced Materials (Other OTC: MCRUF - news) (MGAM) 282.00p -4.50% Circassia Pharmaceuticals (CIR) 296.10p -4.42% Ophir Energy (Other OTC: OPGYF - news) (OPHR) 78.15p -4.40% Pets at Home Group (PETS) 266.90p -3.99%