Ocado Shares Rise Following £200m Settlement with Autostore

Online supermarket Ocado saw a surge in its share price on the FTSE 100 index, as the City remained positive about its future prospects.

Investment bank Jefferies raised its target price on Ocado stock from 550p to 750p, citing the company’s £200m settlement with Norwegian robotics firm Autostore. The settlement was reached in July after a three-year legal battle, during which Autostore alleged that Ocado had infringed upon its tech patents related to warehouse robots used for picking and packing grocery orders.

JP Morgan also increased its medium-term profit margin forecasts for Ocado’s retail unit from 7% to 8%. As a result, Ocado’s shares rose by 3.1%, or 23.4p, to 787p.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 fell by 0.8%, and the FTSE 250 dropped by 1.8%. Oil prices showed a slight increase, with a barrel of Brent crude nearing $95.

High Street retailer Marks & Spencer experienced a 1.3% rise in its share price, as it made a steady return to the FTSE 100 index after a four-year absence. International Distributions Services (IDS) also received positive news, as JP Morgan suggested that its Royal Mail arm was reaching a turning point in terms of revenue and costs.

In other market news, Dialight, a leading LED lighting firm, saw its shares plummet by 18.8% after warning that its full-year results would be worse than expected. However, the company remains optimistic about the second half of the year and plans to simplify its operations through a transformation plan.

It was reported that Mike Ashley’s fashion empire, Frasers Group, is in talks to sell online clothing label Missguided to Asian fast fashion giant Shein. Phoenix, a savings and retirement business, announced that it is on track to deliver positive group net fund flows for the first time in its history by 2024.

Graphene producer Directa Plus will be collaborating with advisory firm Spectrum to explore opportunities to sell its technologies to the US defense sector.

GSK’s announcement that its drug Ojjaara has been approved by US regulators to treat myelofibrosis and anaemia did not generate excitement among investors.

Futura Medical, a pharmaceutical group, saw its shares drop by 4.2% after warning that it would take another two years before it becomes profitable.

Finally, Tan Delta Systems, which recently debuted on the stock market, signed a two-month pilot agreement with L&T Technology Services of India to test its oil quality analysis sensors used in ships, trains, and trucks.

Sources:

– Report by The Times
– Report by Financial Times
– Report by The Guardian