FTSE Shares That Soared and Plunged This Week
LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) has been a bit erratic, losing ground early in the week, then gaining in response to news that the U.K. is out of recession, and then falling again on earnings fears to end the week 89 points (1.5%) down on 5,807 points.
There were some significant individual movers, too, and we take a look at a few of them.
ARM Holdings (ISE: ARM.L)
Chip designer ARM Holdings, whose processors power the ubiquitous iPhones and iPads, gained 65.5 pence (11%) to 656.5 pence, in the week the company released third-quarter figures.
ARM's customers produced 2.2 billion processors from its designs during the three months to September, which is 16% more than the same period last year. The quarter's sales rose 18% to 228 million pounds, with pre-tax profits coming in 22% ahead at 68 million pounds.
Associated British Foods (ISE: ABF.L)
Associated British Foods has been flying lately, and it hit a new 52-week high on Friday of 1,393 pence, up another 32 pence (2.4%) on the week. That takes the FTSE 100 food distributor up more than 25% over the past 12 months, with the price having more than doubled since 2009.
The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is now around 16, with a dividend of only 2% forecasted, so the price has probably gone high enough for now.
ASOS (ISE: ASC.L)
Online fashion retailer ASOS fell 239 pence (9.8%) this week to 2,200 pence after releasing results for the five months to Aug. 31 on Wednesday, reversing a preannouncement mini-surge.
Group revenues were up 32% to 238 million pounds, and international sales rose by 46%, but the City was clearly disappointed by the news that buying director Caren Downie is to leave the company.
WPP Group (ISE: WPP)
Advertising giant WPP Group slumped by 39.5 pence (4.7%) to 800.5 pence after cutting this year's revenue growth forecast for the second time in three months.
In August, when the shares peaked at 884 pence, the company cut the forecast from 3.5% to 3%, and then this week dropped it even lower to 2.5%, pushing the price at one point as low as 766 pence.
Forecasts before this news had the stock at forward P/E of only 11, compared with the FTSE's long term average of around 14, so there may be a buying opportunity -- providing there is no further bad news.
What now?
As usual, this week's FTSE trading provided some large share-price movements -- and perhaps some buying opportunities. Indeed, legendary investor Warren Buffett has spent more than $1 billion buying the shares of one of the U.K.'s most successful FTSE large-caps.
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The article FTSE Shares That Soared and Plunged This Week originally appeared on Fool.com.
Alan Oscroft owns no shares mentioned in this article. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
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