Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Ezra up after Q2 results, OCBC upgrade

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Ezra up after Q2 results, OCBC upgrade Apr 13th 2012, 02:47 Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:47pm EDT Shares of Ezra Holdings Ltd rose as much as 3.6 percent after the oil services firm reported a strong rise in quarterly revenue and OCBC Investment Research upgraded its rating. OCBC raised its recommendation on Ezra to buy from hold and increased its target price to S$1.35 from S$1.28, highlighting that Ezra's shares had declined about 7.5 percent since it downgraded the stock to hold in March. The broker said Ezra's revenue for its offshore support services and subsea services divisions in the second quarter rose, helped by an expanded vessel fleet. Ezra's subsea order book has exceeded $1 billion, and CIMB Research said the company has a tender pipeline of $5 billion and some contract wins were expected in the short term. CIMB kept its outperform rating, but cut its target price to S$1.21 from S$1.25 as weaker margins for the offshore segment hurt its earnings. However, the broker said Ezra's earnings from 2013 onwards will be boosted by stronger subsea business. Ezra's shares were up 2.7 percent at S$1.15 and have gained 37 percent so far this year. For a company statement, click: link.reuters.com/vyd67s 1035 (0235 GMT) (Reporting by Leonard How in Singapore; leonard.how@thomsonreuters.com) *********************************************************** 10:02 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Keppel rises to 11-month high Shares of Keppel Corp Ltd KPLM.SI jumped as much as 3.6 percent after brokers issued upbeat notes on the company following a record $4.1 billion Brazil rig order. Maybank Kim Eng raised Keppel's target price to S$13.20 from S$12.60, and kept its buy rating to reflect Keppel's strong contract wins, which it said could exceed $10 billion this year. "Assuming that the contracts are in the bag, 2012 could be a record year of order wins for Keppel's Offshore & Marine segment," the broker said, estimating that the rigbuilder's current net order book would be about $11.8 billion. Keppel rose to S$11.64 and was the top traded stock by value in the market. Shares in smaller rival Sembcorp Marine Ltd SCMN.SI gained 1.9 percent on expectations of more rig orders. The FT ST Oil & Gas index .FTFSTAS0001 has surged 29 percent this year versus a 13 percent rise in the broader market .FTSTI. OCBC Investment Research also increased its target price for Keppel to S$13.38 from S$12.27, while keeping its buy rating, and raised its order win estimate to S$10.2 billion. For related story click: 0945 (0145 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 08:51 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Singapore index futures rise Singapore index futures rose 1 percent early on Friday, indicating a strong start for the benchmark Straits Times Index. Asian shares rose on Friday on better-than-expected demand for Italian sovereign debt, shrugging off a rocket launch by North Korea before the market open that South Korean officials said had failed. 0850 (0050 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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