PETS AT HOME (PETS) 235.6p Gain to date: 10.6% Original entry point: Buy at 213p, 5 September 2019 Our positive call on Pets at Home (PETS) remains 10.6% in the money, even after a warning that first half pre-tax profit will be ‘materially below the prior year’. Strong results for the year ended 26 March 2020 showed underlying pre-tax profit rising 11% to £99.5m as pet owners ...

Pet care business Pets at Home (PETS) has warned that first half pre-tax profit is likely to be sharply lower than last year as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll. Like most businesses, costs for Pets at Home have risen as Covid-19 measures have been enforced, such as introducing in-store social distancing measures. And just like the major supermarkets, the company has also seen a sharp ...

The FTSE 100 got off to a slow start on Thursday, falling 0.7% to 6,022 over concerns about a new spike in coronavirus cases. The World Health Organisation warned yesterday that the pandemic is far from over, as the largest daily rise in global cases was reported in the last 24 hours. Asian stock markets were down, with China’s Shanghai Composite down 0.55%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ...

While no firm wants to be seen publicly to be ‘having a good crisis’, given the gravity of the threat to the economy and public health from coronavirus, the fact is some firms are doing rather well despite, or in some cases as a result of, the pandemic. Some have been in the right place at the right time – think of healthcare, sanitation and hygiene firms – while others have been less ...

There are flickers of light at the end of a very long tunnel. Doctors are learning more about Covid-19 every day; how it spreads, which treatments are showing promise, and how to create effective testing methods. Inevitably, after being cooped up during many weeks of lockdown, restrictions are slowly being lifted and consumers and businesses are focusing on how they can transition back to ...

Investors and the general public are going to view many companies in one of two ways once the coronavirus crisis has abated. They will either hold them in high esteem or view them with bitterness, with their opinion shaped by how companies behaved during the pandemic. Companies are essentially earning a licence to make a profit once the crisis is over. To get one, they need to follow this ...

Specialist retailer Pets at Home (PETS) expects full year underlying pre-tax profit to be ‘slightly above the top end’ of the £92m-to-£97.1m consensus forecast range. This follows a boom in business in the closing weeks of the retailer’s fourth quarter as the coronavirus crisis developed. However, the shares softened 3.2% to 232.3p on Thursday after the pet care specialist withdrew ...

UK markets start Friday modestly on the back foot as the coronavirus death toll reached 638 and luxury fashion retailer Burberry (BRBY) warned the disease outbreak was hurting its bottom line. ‘The outbreak of the coronavirus in mainland China is having a material negative effect on luxury demand’, said Burberry's chief executive Marco Gobbetti in a trading update on Friday. The luxury ...

Shares rebounded slightly from yesterday's sell-off with the FTSE 100 index gaining 14 points or 0.2% to 7,625 in early trade led by domestic sectors including house-builders and financial stocks. Shares in house-builder Berkeley Group (BKG) were 5% higher at £54.58 after it announced that it would return £1 billion of cash to shareholders over the next two years, an increase of £455 ...

Although the UK’s stock market underperformed those of Eastern Europe, the US and Western Europe in 2019, in sterling, total-return terms, few investors are likely to sniff at a total return of 19.2% from the FTSE 350 index. The FTSE 250 outpaced the FTSE 100 with a total return of 28.9% against 17.3%. Better still, the headline indices were relatively calm, especially compared to the wild ...

Pets at Home (PETS) 242.6p Gain to date: 13.9% Original entry point: Buy at 213p, 5 September 2019 An excellent set of first half results (26 Nov) has fired up shares in pet retailer Pets at Home (PETS) and suggests its recovery story is gaining momentum. We have been vindicated for keeping faith with our positive view as per an update on the stock in our 19 November issue. The ...

Shares in retailer Pets at Home (PETS) rallied 9.5% to 234.8p as the pet care specialist posted forecast-beating first half results and said full year profit will be towards the top end of the £87m to £93m consensus range. Today’s impressive results confirm there is continued momentum with the turnaround at one of Shares’ running Great Ideas selections, with Pets at Home bucking the ...

UK stock markets opened largely flat in early trade on Tuesday but there is plenty of corporate news to grab the attention of investors, not least banknote printer De La Rue (DLAR) crashing after warning that it may not survive. Shares in the company plunge more than 16% to 146.6pm the worst performer on the FTSE All-Shares, after telling investors that there is a ‘material uncertainty that ...

PETS AT HOME (PETS)  205.4p Loss to date: 3.6% Original entry point: Buy at 213p, 5 September 2019 While our recent call on specialist retailer Pets at Home (PETS) has still to produce a positive return, we note that Liberum Capital has issued a ‘buy’ recommendation on the UK’s leading pet care business for the first time in three years, validating our investment ...

A rally at retailer Pets at Home (PETS) could have further to run as the pet care specialist rebuilds confidence in its growth story. The UK’s leading pet care business, selling products online and via 452 physical stores, Pets at Home also operates a UK leading small animal veterinary business with practices based in stores and at standalone locations. The £1.16bn cap is the ...

The FTSE 100 fell a whopping 1.7% with a 134 point drop to 7,450 following a whole host of bad news across the world. After the Bank of England cut its growth forecast for the UK as it warned of the dangers of a no-deal Brexit, US president Donald Trump again used Twitter to move markets, announcing a fresh 10% tariff on another $300bn of Chinese goods, which effectively means all Chinese ...

Better than expect profit growth from veterinary services and pet product supplier Pets at Home (PETS) has put a rocket under its share price. The stock is up 10% to 164p after it reported a 6.1% rise in underlying profit to £89.7m. The company has slashed prices in the face of competition and although this has seen gross margins slump 1.22% in 2019 it has resulted in positive like-for-like ...

UK investors are on the front foot in early trade on Wednesday as they eye the promise of progress on a softer Brexit deal and are buoyed by firm markets in New York and Asia overnight. The benchmark FTSE 100 opens roughly 34 points higher at 7,362.92, closing on May highs of 7,385, and batting off a series of corporate announcement disappoints. They include Marks & Spencer ...

While the performance of the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and FTSE All-Share tends to dominate the headlines, it can be useful to take a more nuanced approach and focus on the performance of individual sectors within these headline indices. The tables show the five best and five worst performing sectors in the FTSE 350 index (a composite of the large cap FTSE 100 and mid cap FTSE 250) so far this ...

Long in the doghouse with investors, pet care specialist Pets at Home (PETS) perks up 8.1% to 135.7p on news of a solid Christmas and confirmation the retailer is on track to meet full year guidance, assuaging fears over a potential profit warning. Despite wider retail sector doom and gloom, today’s update demonstrates there are resilient retail niches such as the pet care market, and also ...