The FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE) isn’t really moving today, up just eight points in morning trading to 6,251, as the recent blind panic continues to subside — US data suggest the world’s largest economy is in better shape than had been feared by some. If this keeps up, the index of the UK’s biggest companies could be on for its first weekly gain in more than a month.
There isn’t much individual company news today, but some shares are on the up. Here are three from the various indices that are rising:
Serco
A pre-close announcement from Serco Group ahead of first-half results sent the shares up 24p (4%) to 625p. The government services firm told us that 2013 is going as expected, and that it should achieve a “modest” improvement in the rate of organic revenue growth — with strong growth in the first half due to record levels of new contracts last year.
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Results for the half should be with us on 28 August, with current analysts’ forecasts for the full year suggesting a 2% rise in earnings per share. That would put the shares on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14, and there’s a dividend yield of 2% predicted.
Entertainment One
Film, television and music firm Entertainment One (LSE: ETO), also known as eOne, saw its shares rise by 3.5p (2%) to 190p this morning, after the company issued a statement ahead of measures to move to the Premium Segment of the Official List.
Just two months into the current financial year, the company has seen revenues rise by 50% over the same period last year, boosted by a doubling of digital revenue. The firm has also doubled its investment in content over last year, and says that earnings are currently in line with expectations.
With the price up more than 20% over the past 12 months, the shares are on a forward P/E of a modest-looking 9.5.
Proteome
Shares in biotechnology firm Proteome Sciences (LSE: PRM) recovered a little this morning, up 2.8p (7%) to 43p after the firm responded to speculation stemming from the recent US decision on the ineligibility of patents for genes — the shares had crashed from around the 70p level since the start of the month.
Specifically, there had been some concern regarding Proteome’s biomarker patent portfolio, but the diagnostics specialist has now reassured us that its intellectual property is not under threat and that it has, in fact, been told its latest patent related to Huntington’s disease has been allowed.
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> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article.
