AstraZeneca Rises on Upbeat Breast Cancer Data

AstraZeneca shares rise Monday morning after the company shared strong data on its new breast cancer drug Enhertu at a large medical conference over the weekend. The company reported that 75.8% of women treated with Enhertu had no disease progression one year into their treatment. In women treated with the current standard care, Kadcyla, 34.1% had no disease progression after a year. Enhertu targets a type of breast cancer known as HER2 positive and the trial compared it with Kadcyla in women with metastatic disease, meaning the cancer had spread to other parts of the body. Citi analyst Andrew Baum estimates that Enhertu could generate $10 billion a year by 2030. AstraZeneca shares rise 3.2% to GBP83.21 Monday morning.

 
Companies News: 

BlueRock Diamonds 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed

BlueRock Diamonds PLC said Monday that its pretax loss narrowed for the first half as revenue increased, and that it anticipates continued strength in the diamond market in the second half.

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Metals Exploration's 1H Boosted by Higher Gold, Recoveries -- Commodity Comment

Metals Exploration PLC on Monday reported a swing to profit for the first half of the year on higher gold production and recoveries. Here's what the Philippines-focused gold miner said:

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PRS REIT Exploring Raising Additional Capital for Six New Site Acquisitions

PRS REIT PLC said Monday that it has identified a pipeline of six sites and that the board is exploring the most appropriate way of raising additional capital to fund them.

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Eurowag Expects to Raise EUR200 Mln in London IPO

W.A.G. payment solutions as said Monday that it expects to raise around 200 million euros ($234.5 million) at its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

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Keywords Studios Appoints Bertrand Bodson as CEO

Keywords Studios PLC said Monday that Bertrand Bodson has been appointed as its new chief executive officer.

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K3 Business Technology to Sell Sage Business to Pinnacle for GBP1.68 Mln

K3 Business Technology Group PLC said Monday that it would sell the business and assets of its Sage Business to Pinnacle Computing Ltd. for 1.68 million pounds ($2.3 million) in cash.

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N4 Pharma Books Wider 1H Loss

N4 Pharma PLC said Monday that its loss widened in the first half of the year, but that it remains "cautiously optimistic" over the commercialization of its Nuvec delivery system for cancer treatments and vaccines.

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Victrex Appoints Vivienne Cox Chair-Designate, Larry Pentz to Step Down at 2022 AGM

Victrex PLC said Monday that Vivienne Cox has been appointed as a nonexecutive director effective Dec. 1 and chair-designate of the board effective Jan. 1, and that she will succeed Larry Pentz.

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Kazera's Diamond Processing Plant in South Africa to Multiply Throughput Under New Operator

Kazera Global PLC said Monday that production at the processing plant used for its Alexander Bay diamond project in South Africa will increase six-fold following a joint venture with the local community's company.

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Ingenta 1H Pretax Profit Rose; Plans Interim Dividend

Ingenta PLC said Monday that profit before tax in the first half of the year rose, and announced an interim dividend for 2021.

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Light Science Tech. Holdings to Float on London's Junior AIM Next Month

Light Science Tech. Holdings PLC said Monday that it plans to float on London's junior AIM early next month.

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Oriole Resources Raises GBP1.8 Mln in Placing and Subscription

Oriole Resources PLC said Monday that it has conditionally raised 1.8 million pounds ($2.5 million) before expenses through a placing and subscription, to support continued work and exploration on its projects.

 
Market Talk: 

Prudential Fundraiser Begs Questions About FTSE Listing

Prudential drops 7% after the insurer announced plans to raise up to 22.49 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.89 billion) in a share issue. The decision to raise cash purely in Hong Kong raises questions about whether Prudential will stay listed on the FTSE 100 Index, AJ Bell says. "Activist investor Third Point, supportive of Prudential's de-merger of its U.S. business Jackson Life, has also pushed for the group to eliminate its London office," Bell's Russ Mould says. "While Prudential has rebuffed this suggestion for now, you could certainly envisage a scenario where its increasing footprint in Africa and Asia, something the newly raised funds are intended to augment, leads to questions about where it should have its primary share-listing."

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Semiconductor Shortage Curbs Near-Term Demand for Platinum Group Metals

1004 GMT - Near-term demand weakness is affecting prices for platinum group metals as the semiconductor shortage weighs on automobile production, Berenberg says in a recent note on Anglo American. The German bank anticipates scope for this to act as a headwind for PGM prices in the near term. However, as production of automobiles is expected to recover next year, this should be supportive for PGM demand, Berenberg says. The bank reaffirms a buy rating on Anglo American, highlighting its higher exposure to PGM and diamonds compared to peers BHP and Rio Tinto.

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Redde Northgate Shares Continue to Offer Good Value, Peel Hunt Says

0954 GMT - Redde Northgate looks set to continue benefiting from strong light commercial vehicle disposal values, which remain well ahead year-on-year given home delivery, courier, leisure and self-employed demand, Peel Hunt says. U.K. vehicle statistics confirm that vehicle use has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, and this suggests that the more operationally geared Redde business should be recovering ahead of plan, the U.K. broker says. This, allied to improving utilization at division FMG Repair Services--which had a GBP6.5 million loss in fiscal 2021--suggests that estimates for the support-services company look well underpinned, the broker says. "We believe the shares continue to offer good value given the likely pace of recovery, ROCE potential and further structural growth opportunities," the broker says. Peel Hunt rates the stock buy.

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SSE Uncertainty Lingers After Response to Break-Up Talk

0927 GMT - SSE shares edge 0.1% lower after the Scottish power generator responded to speculation about activist investor Elliott Management pushing for a break-up of the company by saying there had been no decision to do so. The statement might imply that SSE may still consider splitting its renewable portfolio from its regulated networks business, though the company says it already has a clear strategy, AJ Bell says. "A lot of the big oil companies are in the market for renewable-energy assets as they seek to transition away from fossil fuels, which means there would be eager buyers," Bell's Russ Mould says. "Activist investors are known for their persistence, so one can be sure that Elliott won't give up."

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UK Energy Retail Market Crisis Threatens Smaller Suppliers

0821 GMT - In the U.K., smaller electricity suppliers that don't have adequate hedging positions now face the most serious financial consequence as they have to be buyers of open market power and gas at prices which well exceed the mandatory price cap, RBC Capital Markets says. "We see heightened risk for smaller, less well-hedged energy suppliers to face bankruptcy in the event of this crisis, but we are mixed on if this presents a positive longer-term opportunity for larger energy suppliers in the U.K., such as Centrica," the bank says.

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SSE Statement Won't Prevent Elliott From Campaigning for Business Breakup, RBC Says

0813 GMT - The statement from SSE on Monday morning makes no direct mention of shareholder Elliott Investment Management, or any pressure or activism from shareholders, RBC Capital Markets says. Therefore, it will do little to prevent Elliott from campaigning for a potential split of the business, the bank's analysts say. The energy company said Monday that there has been no decision to break up the SSE Group, following media reports that Elliott was pushing for a separation of SSE's renewable portfolio from its regulated business. Shares in the FTSE 100 company fall 0.4%.

 

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2021 06:44 ET (10:44 GMT)

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