Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Bank of Ayudhya up on Q2 optimism

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STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Bank of Ayudhya up on Q2 optimism Jul 5th 2012, 06:19 Thu Jul 5, 2012 2:19am EDT Shares in Bank of Ayudhya Pcl climbed to their highest in almost 15 years on expectations the mid-sized bank would deliver strong second quarter earnings boosted by retail loan growth and on a positive full year outlook, analysts said. At the midsession break of 0530 GMT, Bank of Ayudhya shares were up 3.25 percent at 31.75 baht ($1.01), the highest since November 1997, outperforming a 0.5 percent gain of the bank subindex and the broader stock market, which was down 0.02 percent. Broker KGI Securities forecast a 28 percent increase in the quarterly earnings to 3.8 billion baht. The result is due on July 19, analysts said. "With BAY's lending portfolio concentrated in the retail segment, the bank stands to benefit from the strong private consumption trend this year," the broker said in a report. Fifteen out of 25 analysts tracking the company rated the stock a 'strong buy' or 'buy', nine put a 'hold' and one had a 'sell'. 1302 (0602 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; viparat.jantraprapaweth@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 09:28 STOCKS NEWS THAILAND: Citi cuts target price on PTT Citigroup cut its target price on Thailand's biggest energy firm PTT Pcl PTT.BK to 382 baht from 442 baht, reflecting an earnings downgrade, lower global oil price forecasts and inventory risks. PTT shares had closed up 0.9 percent at 336 baht on Wednesday. Citigroup maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock. "We trim our estimates and target price as we fine-tune our model to reflect lower global oil price forecasts and inventory risks," Citigroup said in a report dated July 4. "Despite the cuts and sparse short-term positive catalysts, we believe the longer-term outlook remains decent, supported by exploration and production and natural gas consumption, with valuations below mid-cycle levels," it said. 0911 (0211 GMT) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap in Bangkok; viparat.jantraprapaweth@thomsonreuters.com) ($1 = 31.475 baht) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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