Shares in supermarket giant Tesco were making gains on Wednesday after Credit Suisse raised its recommendation for the stock from 'neutral' to 'outperform' and hiked its target price from 355p to 430p.

In a research report, the broker said: "We think growth/capital discipline can co-exist and the shares outperform on that basis rather than via Tesco focusing on a cash-return strategy."

Several of Admiral's headline numbers came in ahead of forecasts for 2012, but Investec has kept its 'sell' rating and 582p target price for the stock.

"The FY12 numbers are very good, in our view, but they do not hide the earnings pressures the company faces this year and in subsequent years," analyst Kevin Ryan said.

UBS has said that while the recent re-rating at Ladbrokes is 'justified', it is time to pause for breath as it downgraded its rating for the High Street bookie from 'buy' to 'neutral'.

After having achieved solid earnings growth in 2012, progress in 2013 is expected to be held back by an increased machine gaming duty, a higher assumed tax rate, increased depreciation and higher costs in UK Retail.

BC

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