Shares in chemicals company Elementis (ELM), edged 0.8% higher to 118p, following press reports that the group is exploring the sale of its chromium activities. It has also been reported that management is in active discussions with potential acquirers of the business. Elementis supplies a range of chromium chemicals that are used across a broad range of industrial applications to make ...

Major UK shares are under heavy selling pressure in early trading on Tuesday as traders dial down recent optimism, with shares of consumer firms and precious metals’ miners leading the decline, while improving employment conditions in the UK and rising US Treasury yields signalled growing bets of tighter monetary policies. At 9.20am, the benchmark FTSE 100 is down 0.8% at 7,549.57 after the ...

Amid several instances of directors selling big chunks of shares in the last week there were also some notable purchases. The wife of the chief executive of life insurance firm Phoenix (PHNX) snapped up nearly £400,000 worth of shares on 6 September. Suzanne Briggs, married to Andrew Briggs who took the helm in February 2020, bought 63,398 shares at 631p. BUYING ON STRONG RESULTS The ...

ELEMENTIS (ELM) 157.3p Gain to date: 24.9% Original entry point: Buy at 125.9p, 18 February 2021 Our positive call on Elementis (ELM) is 25% in the money and we are encouraged by newly appointed non-executive chairman John O’Higgins’ purchase (2 Sep) of £100,996 worth of shares in the FTSE 250 chemicals firm at around 154p each. As outlined in our original buy thesis in ...

Constituents of the UK chemicals sector span both a wide range of market capitalisations and end markets. These include aerospace, automotive, coatings, semiconductors, sports and leisure and the global flavour and fragrance industries. The largest company in the UK chemicals sector, Croda (CRDA) has a market capitalization of £12.6 billion, this contrasts with AIM-quoted Biome Technologies ...

UK stocks represent a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity for investors, say fund managers. After years dogged by political and economic uncertainty, and soggy stock market performance, this is a welcome change of mood music. ‘UK equities are on a 30 year low versus peers, and we see this as a once in a generation opportunity to get involved in some fantastic businesses,’ said Rory ...

ODYSSEAN INVESTMENT TRUST (OIT) 162.6p Gain to date: 66.7% Original entry point: Buy at 97.5p, 10 September 2020 Our ‘buy’ call on Odyssean Investment Trust (OIT) is now 66.7% in the money, with the shares responding positively to the fund’s strong performance and a string of takeover bids. For the uninitiated, Odyssean is a concentrated portfolio of smaller companies whose ...

London’s FTSE 100 fell 2.1% to 6,855.4 points on Thursday following a sell-off in the US overnight as well as a tough session in Asia. Across the pond, the Dow Jones index closed nearly 2% lower to post its worst performance since January after a surge in inflation in April spooked markets. UK investors offloaded shares in oil producers and miners, perhaps taking profit in areas that have ...

Elementis (ELM) 137p Gain to date: 8.8% Original entry point: Buy at 125.9p, 18 February 2021 Reports that chemicals group Elementis (ELM) had been the subject of a takeover deal that could value it at over 200p per share proved unfounded. Late on 20 April its US-listed rival Innospec revealed it had made a cash and shares bid of 160p but that this offer had been rebuffed and a deal ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Tuesday’s session down 2% at 6,859.87 as stronger sterling and resurgent concerns about the course of the global Covid-19 pandemic weighed on investor sentiment, while tobacco stocks remained weak amid reports of US regulatory pressure. On Wall Street the S&P 500 was down 0.9% at 4,128.07 by 4.30pm UK time. TOBACCO STOCKS TUMBLE Shares in British American ...

UK stocks continued to slide on Tuesday following some mixed company updates and modest profit-taking after the big gains of last week, with weakness also reflecting the pound’s continued rise on UK recovery hopes and share price declines for London’s two tobacco firms. By midday, the FTSE 100 was down 1.1% at 6,923.5 points while the FTSE 250 was off 0.7% at 22,339. TOBACCO STOCKS ...

Shares in FTSE 250 chemicals group Elementis (ELM) have soared more than 20% to 163p after reports emerged that it has received a new takeover approach at a big premium to its previous share price. Sky News reports Elementis has received a bid, said to be a mixture of cash and shares, from Nasdaq-listed chemicals firm Innospec that values Elementis at over £1 billion, or more than 200p per ...

The FTSE 100 dipped back below 7,000 in early trading on Tuesday following some mixed company updates and modest profit taking after the big gains of last week. The UK’s benchmark index fell 0.2% to 6,986.18, taking its cue from Wall Street where stocks also fell overnight, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropping 1% and even the Dow Jones falling 0.3% as banks, energy firms and consumer-facing ...

Elementis (ELM) 120.6p Loss to date: 4% Original entry point: Buy at 125.9p, 18 February 2021 Chemicals firm Elementis (ELM) is cautiously optimistic on demand for its products in the months ahead, which combined with the firm’s cost saving measures should drive better financial performance this year and reduce operational leverage. The firm said it has made an ...

Shares in FTSE 250 chemicals firm Elementis (ELM) fell 2.5% to 120.8p after it swung to an annual loss, pinned on the impact from Covid-19 across its industrial and consumer end markets. In its full year results for 2020, the firm’s pre-tax loss stood at $68.8 million compared with a profit of $61 million year-on-year as revenue fell 14% to $751 million. Adjusted operating profit meanwhile ...

UK stocks opened lower on Tuesday, despite a fall in the local unemployment rate, as Germany imposed stricter Covid-19 lockdown measures in a sign the pandemic is far from over. London’s FTSE 100 softened 0.5% to 6,691.8 points early on, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.4% to 21,361.91. The UK unemployment rate fell to 5.0% in November to January, down from the last reading of 5.1% in October to ...

FTSE 250 chemicals firm Elementis (ELM) ticks all the boxes for an investor looking for an overlooked and undervalued stock set to benefit from the reopening of society and the economy. Elementis has the right mix of sales divisions to benefit from both economic activity picking up again and society reopening, and at a bargain price-to-book value of just 1.2 times, compared to a much higher ...

The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 index closed almost flat at 6,555.39 as Brexit dominated the headlines on Monday, with the UK and EU now at a ‘critical stage’ in their talks over a trade deal. Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt told the House of Commons that the UK and EU are at a ‘critical moment in the negotiations’ and warned the UK is prepared to walk away from talks if the EU ...

UK stocks had a mixed start to the week as the FTSE 100 increased 0.44% to 6,578.82 by lunchtime on Monday, with weakness in the pound helping the exporter-heavy index. Sterling was down against the euro and dollar as sentiment turned negative on the knife-edge Brexit trade talks currently playing out, with the European Union reportedly ‘downbeat’ over the chance of a deal being ...

Shares in specialty chemicals firm Elementis (ELM) fell 3.7% to 122p after it rejected a third takeover bid from US rival Minerals Technologies. The company called the latest offer of 130p per share, which values the firm at £755 million, ‘highly opportunistic, coming at a low point of earnings and value’. It highlighted that the price was significantly below its 2019 ...