Most popular equity research this week | 5 - 9 Nov

Purplebricks Group (PURP)

6 month trading update | Zeus Capital, 6 Nov

Paid Access

"Double-digit growth of instructions has combined with increasing average revenue per instruction to deliver sustainable growth. Despite increased competition & total category media spend, Purplebricks has maintained its leading market position with 74% share of the UK online/hybrid market, and brand awareness (97% aided and 48% unaided)..."

Zoo Digital Group (ZOO)

Globally local | finnCap, 6 Nov

Paid Access

"Interims report performance in line with the AGM statement and unchanged forecasts. 1H19 revenue growth of 17% (vs FY19E 18%) demonstrates resilience in a period where partial revenue hiatus from a major subtitling customer was offset by extraordinarily strong growth from dubbing revenue. The 2H restoration of higher than former (pre March) levels of business at the major subtitling customer – as well as continuing dubbing strength – de-risks expectations, with board confidence demonstrated in ongoing investment in capacity for revenue growth..."

Zoo Digital Group (ZOO)

Investing for anticipated growth | Progressive Equity, 6 Nov

Free Access

"Strong 1H19 y/y revenue growth of 17% (to $14.9m) should not be overshadowed by restrained gross margins in the period (33%) caused by mix effects and increased investment costs. The Group notes that 2H19E trading has begun ‘extremely positively’. We anticipate that margins will expand, estimating a FY2019E gross margin of 35%, as subtitling volumes recover, ZOOdubs moves to a more mature state and ZOO’s investment in capacity and technological enhancements allow it to capitalise on buoyant market dynamics which should exhibit its scalability. Aside from tweaks to depreciation and cash, our FY2019E estimates are little changed..."

Empyrean Energy (EME)

STOIIP Audit and PSC Execution | Cenkos, 9 Nov

Paid Access

"This morning, Empyrean Energy released the results of the third-party independent audit of oil initially in place (STOIIP) estimates and geological chance of Success (GCoS) by Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA) over the Jade, Topaz and Pearl prospects, located in Block 29/11 in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, China, in which the Company has a 100% working interest..."

Game Digital (GMD)

Strong progress in a tough retail market | Liberum, 8 Nov

Paid Access

"FY18 adjusted EBITDA of £10.1m (+26% y-on-y) is in line. Operational efficiencies have realised material costs savings as planned. These, together with an improvement in Events, Esports & Digital, have more than offset the challenges in a tough retail market..."

Game Digital (GMD)

Game on for BELONG | Edison, 8 Nov

Free Access

"In a challenging market Game Digital (GMD) continues to make ground, meeting our 26% EBITDA growth forecast after achieving planned cost savings, despite the intensified swing to digital. In FY19 we expect the roll-out of BELONG to gather pace, as well as a continued fightback backed by the console industry. The value in our 67p valuation, other than cash of 33p, is in the BELONG roll-out, where continued momentum is crucial..."

ITV (ITV)

Weak total advertising revenue expected by the end of the year | AlphaValue, 8 Nov

Paid Access

"In 9m 18, total advertising revenue increased by 2%, at the same pace as in H1 18. Once more, total advertising growth was boosted by fast-growing online advertising (+43%). Nevertheless, ITV disappointed the stock market with the expectation of a decrease in total advertising revenue of 3% in Q4 18, o/w -6%/-8% in December..."

Rockrose Energy (RRE)

North Sea Rockstar | Whitman Howard, 6 Nov

Paid Access

"RockRose has quickly managed to establish itself as a significant North Sea player, with an acquired portfolio of assets which were non-core to the sellers but material for a company of RockRose’s size. We initiate coverage with a BUY recommendation and a TP of 1460p, representing significant potential upside of 156% from the current share price, a gap we believe will close quickly once investors realise RockRose is trading at a sharp discount to fundamental value..."

Elecosoft (ELCO)

Building a virtual world | finnCap, 6 Nov

Paid Access

"The group has undertaken a placing to raise £2.25m in order to part-fund the proposed acquisition of Active Online GmbH for a maximum consideration of €3.45m. This purchase follows the recent acquisition of Shire Systems earlier in H2 2018, and continues a strategy of steady expansion of the software portfolio to cover a broad range of the needs of Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) professionals notably meeting the requirements for the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process..."

THE MONTHLY November 2018

1PM | Advanced Oncotherapy | Allergy Therapeutics | Alliance Pharma | Arbuthnot Banking | Avacta | Bigdish | Bionomics | Burford Capital | Chamberlin | City Of London Investment | Civitas Social Housing | Diurnal | DP Poland | Gateley | Genedrive | Haydale Graphene Industries | Koovs | Morses Club | Murgitroyd | Non-Standard Finance | Oxford Biomedica | Primary Health Properties | R.E.A | Redx Pharma | Surface Transforms | 600 Group | Titon | ValiRx | Volta Finance | Warpaint London

Hardman, 6 Nov

Free Access

"In addition to Hardman’s monthly analysis of client stocks, the thorny issue of market disruption – a popular theme currently - is also addressed. In a wide-ranging article, Hardman’s utilities analyst, Nigel Hawkins, assesses the impact that market disruption has already made. In some sectors, notably telecoms and aviation, market disruption has been apparent for many years, as the rise of Vodafone, Ryanair and easyJet demonstrates. However, in some sectors, such as oil and housebuilding, structural changes have been modest – the dominance of the big players endures. For investors, there is real interest in those sectors where changes are underway. The UK groceries market, which may shortly become a duopoly, is a case in point. And, intriguingly, who knows if there is a company currently languishing in AIM, which will attain a £50bn market valuation within the next decade?.."