Hikma chair spends £3.5 million Vistry chair backs builder GlobalData CFO raises cash Mazen Darwazah, executive chairman of drug manufacturer Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK), bought 200,000 shares at £17.56 for a total value of £3.5 million on 7 August. Darwazah's purchase comes after the company's core first-half operating profit fell by 7% to $373 million 'reflecting evolving product mix and...

It has been a mixed reporting season for housebuilders so far this summer, with Bellway (BWY) reporting better-than-expected completions and pricing while MJ Gleeson (GLE) talked of a housing market 'lacking confidence' and with no signs of a short-term catalyst for a substantial improvement. Just as Shares is published (10 July), Vistry (VTY) is due to update the market, and the market will...

Few people will have been happier to see the back of 2024 than Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of affordable house builder Vistry Group (VTY). After three profit warnings, the final one on Christmas Eve no less, and a set of results which missed expectations by a country mile, leading to the final dividend being scrapped, this year represents a reset with the firm focused on reducing its...

Revenue and profit lightFinal dividend scrapped2024 a 'challenging' yearShares in Vistry (VTY) fell 26p or 4% to 612p after the housebuilder posted sales and earnings which missed market expectations.Last year the company lowered its guidance three times due to cost overruns on certain projects and a slowdown in partnership activity. A 'CHALLENGING' YEARFor the year to December, the...

Vistry (VTY), one of the largest housebuilders in the UK is scheduled to release its full year results on 26 March alongside an update on its medium-term targets.Investors will be hoping the company can draw a line under the cost issues which have impacted the business over the last few months, resulting in three consecutive profit warnings.This is reflected in the shares falling more than 53%...

Just over five years ago the stock market began to react in earnest to news of the Covid pandemic.The sell-off was short and sharp, with a modest recovery from the lows in the spring followed by sharper gains in November 2020 after AstraZeneca (AZN) made a vaccine breakthrough.However, a large number of UK stocks are still trading below the levels they were at by the close of trading on 21...

Nexus Infrastructure (NEXS:AIM) 134pMarket cap: £12.9 millionMicro-caps rarely feature as Great Ideas in Shares, but we have made an exception for civil engineering and infrastructure specialist Nexus Infrastructure (NEXS:AIM) which looks to be on the cusp of a change in fortunes.It is only fair to point out that micro-caps tend to be more volatile, are less liquid to trade and have a wider...

Professional short sellers are currently circling a small group of UK consuming-facing stocks with the goal of profiting from falls in their share prices, potentially caused by Rachel Reeves' Budget decisions.The UK outlook is getting worse by the day, with business and consumer sentiment weakening amid concerns the new government doesn't have an effective plan to accelerate economic...

£250 million target reiteratedDowngrade cycle looks overShares rally sharply on updateThe relief following today's scheduled trading update from Vistry (VTY), the UK's largest housebuilder in volume terms, was palpable as the group confirmed its full-year 2024 profit forecast and talked up the 2025 outlook for its partnership business.The shares rallied as much as 50p or just shy of 10% to...

Housing developer Vistry (VTY) dealt shareholders another body-blow last week when it revealed (8 November) that charges for its understatement of costs on some sites would be higher than originally forecast.On 8 October, after an extensive internal review of its operations, the FTSE 100 firm warned earnings for this year, next year and 2026 would be impacted by erroneous build cost...

Vistry director buys 500,000 sharesSmiths News CEO sells £716,681 sharesTeam17 director sells 3,026,694 sharesA person closely associated with Usman Nabi, non-executive director of housebuilder Vistry (VTY) has bought 500,000 shares at 737p for a total value of £3,687,412 on 8 November.Browning West, an independent investment partnership based in Los Angeles, California is currently the...

Firm slices outlook for 2024 to 2026Total costs now seen at £165 millionShares down over 45% since SeptemberFor investors in housebuilder Vistry (VTY), October and November have been months to forget as the firm has now cut its full-year 2024, 2025 and 2026 outlook twice in the space of a few weeks.The shares dropped 165p or 19% to 705p, taking them to the bottom of the pile in the FTSE 250...

The latest house price surveys from Halifax and Nationwide ? two of the UK's largest mortgage lenders ? should have investors in developers breaking out the champagne, yet stocks such as Persimmon (PSN) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.) have gone nowhere for the last few weeks while Barratt Redrow (BTRW) shares are hitting three-month lows.Uncertainty ahead of the autumn budget and over the pace of...

European stocks were mixed on Wednesday morning, with the FTSE 100 trading resiliently, after China announced it will hold a fiscal policy-focused conference this weekend amid a backdrop of investor nerves for the Asian economy.The FTSE 100 index was up 38.24 points, 0.5%, at 8,228.85.London's powerhouse listings AstraZeneca, Shell and Unilever were all in the green in early trade, aiding the...

Build costs miscalculated by 10%Profit cut by £80 million this yearShares fall 35% as market opensShareholders in housebuilder Vistry (VTY) could be forgiven for thinking they were having a nightmare after the firm unexpectedly took the axe to its profit forecasts for this year, next year and the year after due to understated build costs on a small number of its developments.The shares, which...

European shares went into reverse early Tuesday, as the lack of new stimulus in China disappointed the market, while the story in London was Vistry, which slumped by a third after a profit warning.'Having persuaded a sceptical audience that it was managing the transition from mainstream to partnership housebuilder, and outperformed the sector by over 30% in the last twelve months, Vistry now...

On 17 July, Sir Keir Starmer's new Labour government announced its plans for the first year of the new parliament, with growth and wealth creation the priority.King Charles' speech at the State Opening of Parliament included a total of 39 bills under a new legislative agenda which includes speeding up the delivery of 'high-quality infrastructure and housing' and nationalising railway...

For readers who may not be aware, being market-cap weighted both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 index are reviewed and rebalanced every three months to take account of share price movements.In the previous review, which took place at the end of February, budget airline group EasyJet (EZJ) won promotion to the FTSE 100 while precious metals group Endeavour Mining (EDV) was relegated to the FTSE...

Stock prices in London were in the red on Tuesday morning, as non-food sales in the UK remained in decline, while retail sales edged up only mildly in May.The FTSE 100 index opened down 31.15 points, or 0.4%, at 8,229.30. The FTSE 250 was down 105.98 points, or 0.5%, at 20,794.74, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.27 points, or 0.2%, at 803.84.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 821.19, the Cboe...

Vistry CEO shows confidence with latest buyTracsis director snaps up over £33,000 sharesChurchill China director sells up after flat full year revenuesVISTRY CEO BUYS OVER 23,000 SHARESGreg Fitzgerald, CEO of UK housebuilder Vistry (VTY) has bought 23,172 shares at £11.80 for a total value of £273,545.46 on 29 April.Fitzgerald?s move can be seen as a vote of confidence in the housebuilder...