Rolls-Royce Plc should have been a recovery story unfolding, but the omicron outbreak has done for that, for now anyway.
Prior to last week, airline orders were picking up, the troublesome Trent 1000 engine was seemingly under control and interest is rapidly growing in its mini-nukes project.
Now with omicron threatening more travel restrictions all bets might be off again, though given the new variant has only just been identified the backwards-looking numbers should still be OK.
Cashflow is what analysts focus on with Rolls and its liquidity capacity, which with the outbreak of omicron has moved centre stage again
Dr Martens walking more comfortably
Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS), maker of the iconic cushion-soled boots and shoes, will release its half-year 2022 results on Thursday.
Barclays has just upgraded its recommendation on the shares to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ and believes the shares are worth 480p, some 20% upside on its current price of 400p.
The 20% drop in value over the past six months is ‘overdone, it said, especially as it met its IPO guidance.
Barclays says the reasons for this are the departures of the chief marketing and chief digital officers and the lack of an earnings ‘beat-and-raise narrative,’ along with Covid and supply chain concerns.
In the note, it said: “We continue to like the exposure to a strong brand, and we believe the company still has the ability to grow via significant headroom in many geographies, conversion of markets, rationalising wholesale, and improving the DTC [direct-to-consumer] mix.”
Thursday 9 December
Finals: Finsbury Growth and Income Trust PLC, On The Beach Group PLC, Victorian Plumbing Group PLC (AIM:VIC)
Interims: Clipper Logistics Plc, Dr Martens PLC, DWF Group Ltd, FirstGroup (LSE:FGP), LendInvest plc, Moonpig Group Plc, DS Smith PLC, Watches of Switzerland Group plc
Trading announcements: Balfour Beatty Plc, Rolls Royce Holdings PLC, S&U PLC (LSE:SUS)
AGMs: Bioventix Plc, BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust plc, Doric Nimrod Air One Ltd, Doric Nimrod Air Three Ltd, Doric Nimrod Air Two Ltd, Frontier IP Group PLC (LSE:IPO), Lok'n Store plc, Orchard Funding Group plc, Ridgecrest plc, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund, UK Mortgages Ltd, Westmount Energy
Economic announcements: RICS Housing Market Survey (UK), Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US), Wholesales Inventories (US)