WEBVTT - Unilever Downgrade, Applied Nutrition Jumps, Boohoo Drops 

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>The Stock Movers Report, your roundup of companies making moves

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<v Speaker 2>in the stock market, harnessing the power of Bloomberg Data.

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<v Speaker 3>But let's take a look at some stocks on the

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<v Speaker 3>move today in Europe. I'm Stephen Carroll and I'm joined

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<v Speaker 3>by our breaking news editor Louise Moon. Louise, good morning.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's start with Unilever. A downgrade for them.

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<v Speaker 1>Indeed, yes, a downgrade by Kepler from a buy to

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<v Speaker 1>a hold. Now they had had Unileva as a buye

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<v Speaker 1>since twenty twenty one, so quite a big change in

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<v Speaker 1>that sense from them. They're saying that yes, Unileva is

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<v Speaker 1>a safe play when it comes to AI, so obviously

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<v Speaker 1>that we've seen throughout the market's worries of AI disruption.

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<v Speaker 1>But they're saying, yes, it is a safe play. So

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<v Speaker 1>that's the positive end. But they see better value elsewhere

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<v Speaker 1>across Europe in the space, in the FMCG space, and

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<v Speaker 1>so therefore they're seeing limited near term upside essentially, so

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<v Speaker 1>they've downgraded them. It follows results from the Unilever last

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<v Speaker 1>week that saw shares fall on the back of that.

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<v Speaker 1>They gave quite cautious guidance for twenty andy six. They're

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<v Speaker 1>warning of slower market in the US in the US,

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<v Speaker 1>which is offsetting growth in emerging markets. They've also had

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of a slow start to the year, and

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<v Speaker 1>in the even wider context, it comes in the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of their big turnaround. So they've been embarking on a

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<v Speaker 1>turnaround for quite a while now, and the main part

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<v Speaker 1>of that is kind of streamlining and selling off brands

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<v Speaker 1>that don't necessarily scale more internationally, focusing on their core

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<v Speaker 1>products and focusing on boosting them and growing them.

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<v Speaker 4>That is under their CEO, who joined last.

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<v Speaker 1>March, but he's continuing in continuing previous plans. It's been

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<v Speaker 1>long ongoing and investors have largely welcomed it, so shares

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<v Speaker 1>have risen since the CEO took over. But their results

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<v Speaker 1>last week and this downgrade today shows that there's still

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<v Speaker 1>kind of a lot of barriers to overcome and a

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<v Speaker 1>lot still to be done to convince investors that their

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<v Speaker 1>turnaround is taking shape and has legs going forward as well.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, so that's one story and focus from Markets Applied Nutrition. Meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 3>there shares up six point eight percent. What's driving that?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, they had a update this morning.

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<v Speaker 1>Essentially all quite positive going forward for Applied Nutrition and Shares,

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<v Speaker 1>as you say, are reacting well on the back of this.

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<v Speaker 1>So this was a This is their third guidance hike

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<v Speaker 1>in a row.

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<v Speaker 4>And you know, it's.

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<v Speaker 1>Always quite an interesting company to talk about in the

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<v Speaker 1>sense of it only listed relatively recently in the UK,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's one of the rare listings that we've seen

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<v Speaker 1>in the UK. So it's an interesting one to keep

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<v Speaker 1>an eye on to see how they're doing. But as

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<v Speaker 1>I say, they've boosted guidance. They're saying there's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of demand for their products and diversification across the high street,

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<v Speaker 1>big push obviously into health, so that's really benefiting them

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<v Speaker 1>and their shares this morning.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, and now we're also watching shares this morning in

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<v Speaker 3>well Well the artists formerly known as Boohoo, which is

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<v Speaker 3>now known as Dead as down ten percent. What's going on.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the big drop for them is the most since

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<v Speaker 1>August and extending drops that we've been seeing. So they've

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<v Speaker 1>had drops of about one percent over the past twelve months.

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<v Speaker 1>So the latest news is they're planning an acuity raise

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<v Speaker 1>of about thirty five million pounds and some of the

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<v Speaker 1>company directors are participating in that, also holding talks with

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<v Speaker 1>lenders for what they say, to give them greater financial

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<v Speaker 1>flexibility for their turnaround. So analysts saying that investors might

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<v Speaker 1>be a bit dismayed of their financial situation. They did

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<v Speaker 1>reaffirm guidance for twenty six and twenty twenty seven, but

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<v Speaker 1>you know, potentially a bit of dismay around their current situation.

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<v Speaker 4>As you say, they.

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<v Speaker 1>Rebranded, So they've rebranded last year to Debenham's Group from

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<v Speaker 1>Boohoo and trying to turn themselves around a total overhaul

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<v Speaker 1>really to turn themselves into quite an asset light model.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's still taking place. It's still going on. There's

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<v Speaker 1>also a lot of pressure from Mike Ashley, who's one

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<v Speaker 1>of their shareholders.

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<v Speaker 4>He's been pushing for board representation.

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<v Speaker 1>So they're kind of deep grappling with a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>the moment and this actually Raises is the latest part

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<v Speaker 1>of that, so not being taken too well.

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<v Speaker 2>This morning the Stock Movers Report from Bloomberg Radio. Check

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