Single stocks: M&S less impacted by discount stores, M&A making ITV stronger

The focus on single stocks this week comes from Manoj Ladwa, Partner of TJM Partners, who joined Zak Mir and Mike Ingram on the Tip TV Finance Show to cover M&S and ITV, with a brief look at European Equities and the monetary policy situation.

Investors piling wrongly into European Equities, what firepower is left for central banks?

Ladwa highlighted that the general view is a squeeze of the shorts, with very little conviction buying going on in the market. He noted that when we start to see lower GDP figures, he questioned what monetary policy firepower central banks have to use with rates already at ultra-low levels. Ladwa also briefly discussed that the investing in European Equities is wrongly placed, with Europe in trouble as companies are not delivering, like banks in the US which were notably weak.

Cash generative ITV investing strategically

Ladwa outlined that he is looking to pick up ITV around the 240-245 level and sell towards 260. He highlighted a long-term target of £3 following the bolt-on acquisition of UTV which has made the company stronger.

MKS seeing volumes pick up

Ladwa believed that the stock has been gaining momentum over the last few days, and he targeted £6 in the medium-term. He continued that food is fantastic for M&A as the premium product is seeing a lesser impact form discount stores than faced by other supermarkets. On the other hand, he noted that they are stumbling on the clothes side of the business. Ladwa concluded their earnings could be the catalyst to move the stock higher, so he urged to buy on dips, and add to a position if you see a breakout.