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Industry news

SunGard's hottest stocks


15 July 2014 London
Reporter: Stephen Durham

Generic business image for news article
Image: Shutterstock
The hottest stocks from around the globe have been compiled by SunGard’s Astec Analytics.

Quindell (QPP.L) is Astec’s top pick for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region for the week beginning 14 July 2014 after it raised its profitability target and reassured investors there was no need to raise additional funds.

Following in the wake of asset manager Fidelity doubling its stake in the company, Quindell lifted its guidance for full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) from 35 percent of revenue to 40 percent, and reported a 117 percent increase year-on-year for first-half revenue to £355 million.

Air France-KLM (AF.PA) also broke into the list after lowering its 2014 earnings guidance because of weak demand and troubles it has suffered repatriating revenue from Venezuela.

The news helped bring about a 15 percent drop in its share price over the week, while the securities lending figures show that, with use of the available stock over the 90 percent level, the cost of borrowing is being driven higher as demand to short sell remains strong.

The metric peaked at almost seven times its level of the previous week.

In the US, AbbVie (ABBV) pharmaceutical company is the top pick for North America, as its ongoing moves for UK-based rival Shire took another turn, after the company said it had received another takeover proposal from AbbVie, valuing it at more than $53 billion.

As its share price has moved up and down in recent weeks, Astec's data suggests that short sellers have been sceptical of any gains—borrowing of ABBV shares climbed 43 percent during the stock rally between June 25 and July 3.

The action camera-maker GoPro (GPRO) has also made its way into Astec’s hottest stocks after its second week of lending activity following its initial public offering. The lending data suggests short selling has continued to rise, even as its share price began to lose ground.

Although still early days in terms of net volume, the previous week saw the number of GPRO shares being borrowed climb 47 percent, while the cost of borrowing those shares rocketed even further as demand to borrow them grew.

Astec’s top pick for the Asia Pacific region is Nissan Motor Company (7201), following news that it is set to undergo its third high-profile football sponsorship deal, with the full details set to be released later in the week.

The deal comes amid a broader two-year strategy to shift its marketing budget away from other areas, such as marathon runs and European motorsports, in hopes that the football's worldwide reach will help push its global sales.

A mainstay of Astec’s list, the Anhui Conch Cement Company (0914.HK), has seen its share price climb 11 percent over the previous 10 sessions as it continues to benefit from an unexpected jump in its profits.

In the securities lending arena, as the company's utilisation level hovers around the 80 percent level, Astec's data shows the weighted average cost of borrowing has been steadily increasing since May and is now double what it was at the start of June.

This hints that demand to short sell the stock has been climbing overall, even as net positions have been holding fairly steady in July.
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