>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Dowmgrades - 9th of January 2019

>>> Up
* Abcam Upgraded to Buy at Peel Hunt
* ADO Properties Upgraded to Equal-weight at Barclays; PT 50 Euros
* Amplifon Raised to Neutral at Intermonte; Price Target 14 Euros
* doBank Upgraded to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 12.30 Euros
* Eni Upgraded to Buy at Berenberg
* Fraport Upgraded to Equal-weight at Barclays; PT 67 Euros
* JCDecaux Upgraded to Outperform at MainFirst; PT 34 Euros
* LafargeHolcim Upgraded to Neutral at Davy
* Nike Upgraded to Buy at HSBC; PT $95
* Scout24 Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 50 Euros
* Serco Upgraded to Buy at Citi; PT Set to 1.30 Pounds
* Zurich Airport Upgraded to Overweight at Barclays; PT 190 Francs

>>> Down
* AMS Downgraded to Underperform at Credit Suisse; PT 16 Francs
* Chariot Oil & Gas Cut to Hold at Peel Hunt; PT Set to 3 Pence
* HSBC Downgraded to Underweight at Barclays
* Prudential Downgraded to Sell at SocGen
* Saint-Gobain Downgraded to Neutral at Davy

>>> Initiation
* Auto Trader Rated New Hold at Jefferies; PT 4.50 Pounds
* Barrick Gold Rated New Overweight at Barclays
* Cairn Energy Reinstated at Peel Hunt With Buy; PT 2.20 Pounds

>>> Call
* U.K. Engineers May Have Already Passed Share-Price Nadir: RBC

>>> US After Hours Summary: SGH -13%, TLND -9%, VIRT +7%, GMED +3.5%,


After Hours Summary: SGH -13%, TLND -9%, VIRT +7%, GMED +3.5%, SWKS +3% following earnings/guidance, NEO +8% on S&P SmallCap 600 addition news

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: VIRT +7.4%, GMED +3.5%, SWKS +2.8%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: NEO +8.4% (to join S&P SmallCap 600), CGC +4.1% (initiated with Overweight at Piper Jaffray), PCG +0.6% (attributed to California Governor Newsom comments), MOS +0.5% (entered into a memorandum of understanding with Sinochem)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: SGH -12.9%, TLND -8.9%, CMP -4% (reports that lower snow activity has negatively impacted Q4 sales and operating earnings)

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: TOO -17.8% (ticking lower - is reducing quarterly distributions to zero from $0.01/unit to reinvest cash and strengthen its balance sheet), TROX -5.7% (provides update regarding pending Cristal acquisition; addresses partial shutdown of U.S. government and impact to proposed remedy discussions with FTC), NBR -3% (provides Q4 highlights ahead of conference appearances; targeting $200 to $250 mln net debt reduction during 2019 including dividend cut), NYMT -2.5% (announces public offering of 10.5 mln shares of common stock), HLF -2.4% (ticking lower; appoints Michael Johnson as Interim CEO, effective immediately, following the resignation of CEO Richard Goudis), ECA -1.7% (indicated lower after releasing presentation ahead of tomorrow's Goldman Sachs Energy Conference)

FT : IAG/Brexit: flight plight

IAG/Brexit: flight plight
Anglo-Spanish airline is coy about how it would avoid falling foul of EU ownership rules

Soothing words do little to calm anxious flyers. Nor will they be much help in dealing with a disorderly Brexit. Anglo-Spanish airlines group IAG has exuded confidence about its ability to navigate tricky ownership rules. But the latest signals from Brussels are not reassuring.

Airlines operating within the EU need to show at least half their shares are held and controlled by EU nationals. Only a fifth of IAG’s shares will be owned by these bestowers of grace, estimates broker Davy. IAG is coy about how it would avoid falling foul of the ownership rules. But it will try to rely on a convoluted structure that ensures voting rights are held locally — by the El Corte Inglés store owner in the case of Iberia, it emerged recently. Brussels may not be convinced.

A sense of proportion is necessary. Fears of big restrictions on flights into the EU or US will not be realised . The extra pressure on sterling resulting from a disorderly Brexit is probably more important than the ownership issue, although IAG is better hedged than some rivals. A lot of bad news is already in the share price. IAG shares are trading on less than six times next year’s earnings, near an all-time low.

IAG’s inscrutable calm contrasts with Ryanair’s longstanding warnings of “chaos”. If there is a hard Brexit, the low-cost rival plans to strip UK shareholders of voting rights. If they opt to sell, they will only be able to trade with Europeans. Brits, like other non-EU nationals, can buy US depositary receipts. Tellingly, their premium over ordinary shares has already risen steeply, up from 5 per cent to 30 per cent in the two years after the vote, says Citi. EasyJet has similar powers. It is already close to the threshold, with 47 per cent of shares in the hands of Europeans.

Most MPs want to avoid a disorderly Brexit. If they fail, shareholders must hope that IAG’s arrangements pass muster. Their confidence will not be helped by the lack of transparency. Expect more flight anxiety in the weeks to come.