Trending tickers: Tesla l Virgin Galactic l Berkeley Group l Entain
A look at the stocks making headlines on Wednesday
Tesla (TSLA)
It was a strong session for Elon Musk's Tesla on Tuesday with its stock closing up 5.34%, with market estimates forecasting another climb for its share price today.
The surge comes off the back of the electric carmaker getting closer to its ultimate goal – becoming the default charging standard in the US. Its after Rivian (RIVN) was the latest automaker to announce a deal to access Tesla’s Supercharger network in the US and Canada, starting in the spring of 2024.
“We’re excited to work with Tesla and to see collaborations like this help advance the world toward carbon neutrality,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement.
“The adoption of the North American Charging Standard will enable our existing and future customers to leverage Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network,” he added.
Read more: Inflation stuck at 8.7% as cost of living squeeze continues
Meanwhile, CEO Musk, has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit to the US this week to discuss Tesla venturing into India.
The Indian government said it had invited Musk to explore investment opportunities in electric mobility and the commercial space sector, while Mr Musk said he was "trying to figure out the right timing" to make it happen.
Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE)
Stock in Richard Branson’s space flight company was up 27.6% at market close in the US on Tuesday and is expected to climb again today as the group prepares for its first commercial flight.
Virgin Galactic, which develops, manufactures and operates spaceships and related technology, has seen its share price soar since the beginning of June – and it was up 36.7% last week alone ahead of launching its space tourism service on 27 June.
The group plans to launch a second commercial flight in early August and is aiming to continue with monthly space flights after that.
The costly price for a ticket would set buyers back around $450,000. Tickets were being sold at $200,000 each before inflation took its toll.
Read more: FTSE slumps as UK inflation makes 0.5% interest rate rise likely
For this flight though, called Galactic 01, three members of the Italian Air Force will be on board to conduct research before the company’s backlog of 800 passengers get their long-awaited turn after some signed up a decade ago for the experience.
Zacks Equity Research noted how the company’s shares had lost over two-thirds of their value last year due to the continued delay with its launch of the service.
“Back then, SPCE had stated that it was having to upgrade its tourist spacecraft. It seems though that the horrors of 2022 are a thing of the past.”
Zacks also noted the future outlook is positive for the company in terms of revenues, with estimated sales growth of 236.5% for the year.
The Berkeley Group Holdings (BKG.L)
Berkeley Group was among the companies at the bottom of the FTSE 100 index on Wednesday morning after the home construction company said reservations had dropped by 15% compared to a year ago. However, the firm said its order book remained healthy overall.
The company also said pre-tax profits in the year to 30 April 2023 jumped by 9.5% to £604m, while earnings per share grew by 2.1% to 426.8p.
“This is a very strong performance by our sales and construction teams, given market conditions and changing building regulations, and reflects the resilience of Berkeley's business model with its focus on the country's most undersupplied markets,” Berkeley’s chief executive Rob Perrins said in a statement.
Charlie Huggins, manager of the Quality Shares Portfolio at Wealth Club, said the results are solid from Berkeley in current challenging circumstances. Moreover, the group maintained its profit guidance for the next two years. Although, he noted, the near-term outlook is highly uncertain.
“In recent weeks we have seen a significant rise in mortgage rates and this has injected a further dose of caution amongst home buyers and property investors. This means Berkeley expects sales for the year ahead to be down around 20%.
“As a result, Berkeley is battening down the hatches. It has taken its foot off the investment accelerator and will prioritise cash and margins. This, combined with a healthy forward order book and a strong balance sheet puts Berkeley in a good position to navigate these tougher times,” Huggins said.
He also highlighted that Berkeley has historically always emerged from downturns stronger.
“For now though, near-term prospects for Berkeley and its peers are murky at best,” he added.
Entain (ENT.L)
Sports betting and gambling company Entain was among the companies at the top of the FTSE 100 basket in early trade after it was upgraded to “outperform” by BNP Exane, which has a price target of 1,500p on the gambling stock, according to forex.com.
It also comes after analysts at Shore Capital said on Monday that the acquisition of Polish betting operator STS for a total £750m ($946m) cash and equity consideration is a “sensible strategic move”, Proactive Investors said.
As part of the deal, Entain said it would pay 24.8 Polish zlotys ($5.97) for each STS share.
On the downside, the Ladbroke-owner faces a hefty fine from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) following a four-year investigation into bribery allegations, relating to a former subsidiary in Turkey.
Entain, which also owns brands such as bwin, Coral, PartyPoker and Sportingbet, said that it was in deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) negotiations with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and is working towards achieving a resolution on the HMRC investigation.
Entertain has acknowledged that historical misconduct involving former third-party suppliers and former employees of the group may have occurred.
"While the company cannot say at this stage what the consequences of the investigation will be, it is likely that they will include a substantial financial penalty which is yet to be determined," the company said in a statement.
Watch: Rivian makes deal with Tesla to join EV supercharger network
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