CareTech Holdings (CTH)

London’s FTSE 100 rebounds 21.3 points to 7,115 on Friday, blue-chips having suffered their worst day in six weeks yesterday, with the upwards move spearheaded by banks and miners. However, Scotland-based energy generator and supplier SSE (SSE) slips 1.75% lower to £11.53 after downgrading its full year earnings forecast following a delay in receiving government support. In a third quarter ...

Corporate activity in the healthcare sector is heating up. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and US rival Pfizer plan to marry their consumer health businesses in a £10bn joint venture. Bristol-Myers Squibb has made a $74bn takeover offer for Celgene and Eli Lily is to pay $8bn for Loxo Oncology. Analysts are confident the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) trend still has legs in the sector and many ...

It is business as usual at UK social care services provider CareTech (CTH:AIM) with sales and profitability rising despite the potential distraction from the acquisition of Cambian. Sales at CareTech climbed 11.9% to £185.7m and underlying pre-tax profit jumped 11.9% to £32.9m in the year to 30 September, supported by strong demand. In the company’s biggest division, Adult Learning ...

Residential care home specialist CareTech (CTH:AIM) is in takeover talks with children’s services provider Cambian (CMBN) for a potential £600m merger, prompting a 32.8% rally in the latter to 196.7p. CareTech has offered 220p per share or a full cash alternative of 200p in a deal valuing Cambian between £290m and £319m. According to media reports, Cambian rejected a previous offer ...

UK computer services and software reseller Softcat (SCT) is among the biggest risers across the FTSE All Share index in early trade on Tuesday after telling investors it will beat current forecasts. The FTSE 250 firm said its full year adjusted operating profit would be well ahead of its prior expectations, helped by favourable market conditions. Shares in the near-£1.5bn business are running ...

Monday 19 June Social care services provider CareTech (CTH:AIM) has had a strong share price run this year, having bounced back from weakness in March as the company underwent fee discussions with local authorities. On 19 June, the company will report half-year results that should reveal if its plan to hike fees to cover higher living wage costs can be implemented and if its acquisitions are ...

The FTSE 100 nudges ahead 6.82 points at 6,909.68, despite being held back by several stocks going ex-dividend. Yesterday's gains on the index in response to a potential Italian bank bail-out plan were followed by a strong showing in the US and Asia overnight. Troubled sports retailer Sports Direct (SPD) falls 8.5% to 288.3p on a 25% fall in first half pre-tax profit to £140m, largely as a ...

Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Shiller reckons the best way of assessing value in forward looking markets is to look to the past. In 1988 he popularised the cyclically-adjusted price to earnings (CAPE) ratio, also known as the Shiller PE, to help investors decide if a stock, sector or market is trading at a premium or discount to its historical value. Whereas a price to earnings (PE) ratio ...

The UK’s economic outlook looks pretty uncertain and investors looking for a defensive, secure revenue generator with a decent yield should consider social care provider Caretech (CTH:AIM). The group provides the full spectrum of social care outside of supporting the elderly to help ease pressure on local authorities. A fall in revenue appears unlikely as management bill the Government ...

London shares are largely flat as cautious traders look to talks in Brussels over reforming the UK's place within the EU. Safe-haven gold races higher and UK gilt yields tighten. The benchmark FTSE 100 index nudges 5 points higher to 5,979, while midcaps and smaller companies also find little momentum to drive them either way. Among the blue-chip benchmark's main risers was Coca-Cola HBC ...

Growing queues for treatment by the National Health Service (NHS) provides an opportunity for investors. Demand for healthcare is expected to rise and there are companies trading on London’s stock market which could ease the pressure on the health service and local authorities. The NHS is one of several options for those seeking diagnosis, treatment or medical support in the UK. People can also ...

British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines’ (IAG) operating profits almost doubled to some €1 billion sending the stock 2.9% higher to  576.2p. It also raised its 2015 forecast by 20%. Lloyds Banking (LLOY) rises 0.6% to 78.9p as it re-introduces its dividend after a seven-year break. It will pay 0.75p a share with £130 million going to the government. The bank made a £1.7 ...

There is more to healthcare than bottles of pills and tablets. While the rewards offered by companies that bring new drugs to market can be high, investors could reduce exposure to the huge development risks by backing technologies or services that seek to meet the medical demand from the world’s ageing population. Rising longevity and increasing instances of lifestyle diseases, such as ...

The stock market’s smallest and riskiest companies have always held fascination for private investors. On the premise that ‘elephants don’t gallop, but fleas leap,’ to borrow Jim Slater’s often quoted phrase, it’s easier for a tiny company to double its size, and investor’s money, than for a big one. Let’s face it, a blue chip company worth £1 billion will find it much harder to ...

It’s that time of year again when we add up the numbers for the past 12 months and reveal our new stock selections for the year ahead. In a nutshell, our 2014 stocks achieved 5.9% average return (excluding dividends) versus a 3.9% decline in the FTSE All-Share over the same period. Such is tradition, late December sees financial and business magazines, newspapers and websites make bold calls on ...

London's FTSE 100 index begins to slide having opened largely flat in early trade. The UK benchmark drifts 60 points lower, roughly 0.9%, to 6,394 on Thursday, partly fuelled by hefty falls from resources stocks and and BT (BT.A) offsetting gains across the financials space, with insurance firm St Jame's Place (STJ) the Footsie's biggest riser. The life insurer and wealth manager advances 2% to ...

As markets see-saw in response to each twist and turn of the Russian/Ukrainian stand-off, America’s efforts to contain Islamic State fighters in Iraq, events in Gaza and unrest in Syria investors could be forgiven for being a little wary. At the same time, if the US economic recovery continues to gather pace and equities take another leg up they risk losing out should they exit positions ...

By number the UK’s quoted Health Care industry is dominated by small and mid-sized companies working to create the next wonder drug or invent a technology that will improve peoples’ lives. However these businesses aren’t purely motivated by the desire to help the sick and instead are chasing the huge financial rewards that can be made when a blockbuster product receives the regulator’s ...

Those interested in growing profits and cashflow should stick with social care provider CareTech (CTH:AIM) at 264p, despite the wife of its strategic director selling a large chunk of stock following interim results (12 Jun). Stewart Wallace’s wife Wendy raised £780,600 through selling 300,000 shares at 260.2p each. She is left with 32,750 shares. Her husband owns a further 473,374 ...

Investors smile on pure-play online fashion retailer Boohoo.com (BOO:AIM), which rebounds 5.4% to 48.5p following recent negative ASOS (ASC:AIM) read-across. The market likes better-than-expected maiden full-year results. Growth accelerated through the first quarter to May following an increase in marketing spend and there's also an upbeat outlook statement.   English luxury brand ...