Broker tips: Sage, ITV, MoneySupermarket.com

20th Jun 2012 11:27

Sage's acquisition of a majority stake in Folhamatic may be expensive, but it looks like a 'strategically sensible' deal, according to Investec which upgraded its recommendation on the stock from 'sell' to 'hold' on Wednesday morning.The broker said: "Clearly, growing by acquisitions make sense to Sage which is putting increasing focus on the top line. Brazil is a highly attractive market, both in terms of the growth backdrop, but also relative to the low level of software penetration against a complex tax regime. We would expect the business to continue to show strong growth."With no material downside remaining to its 240p target price, Investec has moved its recommendation to 'hold'.Panmure Gordon has reiterated its 'buy' rating and 125p target price for terrestrial broadcaster ITV following Monday's announcement of a tender offer.The group announced that it is tendering "up to £250m" of its outstanding bonds with near-term maturities (2014, 2015, 2017) in an effort to reduce debt and reduce future interest expense.Panmure analyst Alex DeGroote said in a research note on Wednesday morning: "We have pointed out for some time the mismatch between ITV gross debt and cash balances. In this context, this treasury action is very welcome."Peel Hunt has upgraded its rating for comparison website group MoneySupermarket.com from 'hold' to 'buy', following the recent acquisition of MoneySavingExpert (MSE) earlier this month."It fits with the group's strategy of developing as an everyday brand to which the consumer chooses to turn. Moreover, for a cash-rich company and given the scale and structure, the deal should be very accretive at the earnings per share (EPS) line," he said.BC