21st Aug 2025 10:49
(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Thursday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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Brooks Macdonald Group PLC, up 2.2% at 1,840 pence, 12-month range 1,360p-2,080p. RBC raises its price target for the London-based wealth manager to 1,750p from 1,650p, but maintains a 'sector perform' rating. Separately, Wellcome Trust Ltd increases its stake in Brooks Macdonald to 5.03% as of Tuesday from 4.16% previously.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Costain Group PLC, down 2.1% at 132.6p, 12-month range 86p-170p. Berenbery raises price target to 175p from 150p, maintaining a 'buy' recommendation. Deutsche Bank also raises its target, to 150p from 115p, and maintains a 'hold' rating. These follow the Maidenhead, England-based construction and engineering firm's half-year results, released on Wednesday. Pretax profit rose 7.1% to GBP18.2 million, even as revenue fell 18% to GBP525.4 million. Costain more than doubled its interim dividend to 1.0p per share.
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Global Opportunities Trust PLC, down marginally to 324.95p, 12-month range 269.39p-328.50p. The Edinburgh-based investment trust's net asset value per share is 378.9p as of June 30, up 1.3% from 374.0p at December 31. For the six months ended June 30, its NAV total return is positive 4.0%, compared with the FTSE all-world Index which delivered what Chair Cahal Dowds described as "a fairly anaemic" positive 1.0%. On the economic backdrop, he comments: "In many ways it has been a tumultuous period, with the stance of the new US administration appearing to change on a regular basis. This has been most noticeable on trade tariffs...Markets have remained relatively sanguine through the period, given the potential for severe economic distress." Adds that looking ahead, "it takes time for economic impacts to work their way through the system and it is only now where evidence may begin to emerge...Either the messenger will be blamed, or the Federal Reserve will serve as the scapegoat. In the meantime, there have been no meaningful attempts to address the debt overhang facing the world’s developed economies. As before, this leaves us with a continued risk averse approach." Meanwhile, the company's "principal focus" is "attempting to make sure that we can continue to provide positive real returns, but retain the downside protection we feel is necessary".
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By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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