FTSE 100 movers: Intertek boosted by upgrade; Flutter flies higher again

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.9% at 7,703.07 in afternoon trade on Wednesday. Intertek was the standout gainer after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the shares to 'outperform' from 'underperform' as it said it sees 20% upside from a re-rating as the market prices in stronger mid-term earnings per share growth.

Exane said that after three years of multiples and earnings expectations both grinding lower, it feels like many investors have given up on Intertek.

"This makes it interesting," said Exane. "In 2024 we expect strong margin expansion, while regulatory and fiscal tailwinds should support strong volume growth.

"A material improvement in margins combined with organic growth above the pre-Covid trend, should be sufficient to stem the de-rating in place since late 2020."

Ocado was also on the rise again, while Flutter racked up strong gains for the second day in a row, having been upgraded to 'buy' from 'hold' by Peel Hunt on Tuesday.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,247.00p 3.61% Ocado Group (OCDO) 792.20p 3.31% Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 14,380.00p 3.30% Barclays (BARC) 152.02p 2.95% SEGRO (SGRO) 905.00p 2.91% Land Securities Group (LAND) 727.40p 2.71% IMI (IMI) 1,690.00p 2.30% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 251.00p 2.16% Beazley (BEZ) 537.00p 2.09% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 269.60p 1.93%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 217.10p -0.87% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 293.30p -0.58% Rightmove (RMV) 562.40p -0.46% Pearson (PSON) 945.20p -0.36% Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,371.00p -0.34% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,768.00p -0.31% RS Group (RS1) 825.80p -0.15% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 310.60p -0.13% Experian (EXPN) 3,200.00p -0.09% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 172.50p 0.00%