Big losses for the valuation of plant hire company Ashtead this morning after the publication of interim results. Investors were quick to latch onto the news that macroeconomic headwinds in the US had resulted in a downgrade of full year profits, with the confirmation that the business intended to move its primary listing from London to New York counting for little. This had however been well trailed so was arguably priced in. The Ashtead share price was trading down 10% at 9am.
The greetings card and gift business Moonpig also had a challenging start to the day following the publication of its interim results. Despite paying out a maiden dividend, launching a £25m share buyback and increasing the medium term margin guidance fractionally, investors were left underwhelmed. The Moonpig share price was down just over 10% an hour into the day.
Half year numbers from Naked Wines are also out and despite the company facing falling subscriber numbers, the successful liquidation of inventory has impressively bolstered cash reserves. That, combined with the stock currently held, does appear to leave the company trading at a meaningful discount to the asset’s valuation. Investors are taking a glass half full approach here and evidently have conviction that the performance review will help optimise shareholder value. The Naked Wines share price is up 5% in early trade.
Most read news on Investegate this morning
Letter from the Board - - Boohoo Group (BOO)
Trading Update - - Centrica (CNA)
Agreement with Amazon for films and TV series - - Games Workshop Group (GAW)
