Broker tips: Sage, Anite, Ashtead

11th Mar 2013 11:10

Accountancy software giant Sage suffered a steep fall on Monday after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded its rating for the stock from 'neutral' to 'underperform'.The broker said in a research note that investors should remain cautious as to whether Sage can pull off its move to cloud computing.Investec has downgraded its rating for software provider Anite from 'buy' to 'hold', saying that the stock has come close to its target.While the shares suffered a 9.29% drop to 140.6p on Monday morning, they finished Friday's session at the 155p level - not far off Investec's unchanged target price of 157p - having risen from around the 140p mark at the start of 2013.Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its 'buy' recommendation and 650p target price for construction firm Ashtead after recent forecast-beating jobs data from the US."Friday's US non-farm payrolls provided further evidence that US construction markets are improving," said analyst Caroline de La Soujeole. "[This] could mark the cyclical upturn that will add to Ashtead's structural growth."BC