Vodafone at new peak as investors pile in
LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Shares in mobile 'phone operator Vodafone Airtouch Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: VOD.L) jumped to another record peak on Friday, as investors piled into the sector and a Japanese deal added to recent positive newsflow, dealers and analysts said.
Vodafone shares traded 13-1/2 pence or 4.6 percent higher at 306-3/4p by 1035 GMT in active trade of 35.4 million shares. The stock was the biggest gainer in a mixed FTSE 100 index, lifting the blue chip UK measure by some 22 points.
Vodafone surpassed its previous peak of 298 pence set on October 1. On the year it has risen 50 percent and has outperformed the UK market as a whole by 38 percent, Reuters analytics show.
Elsewhere in the sector, Orange Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ORA.L) was up one percent at 1,326 pence, just short of Thursday's record 1,350 pence, amid speculation of a share sale by 45 percent owner Hutchison Whampoa that could pave the way for a bid for the UK company.
Dealers noted that MCI Worldcom Inc's (NasdaqNM:WCOM - news) $115 billion bid for Sprint Corp. (NYSE:FON - news) had excited speculation of further bids and mergers and had set a new valuation benchmark for sector deals.
Equally they said Vodafone continued to be in focus, with many investors still short of holdings in the world's biggest mobile 'phone stock and after recent positive news on the company.
Vodafone said on Thursday it was increasing its stake in nine regional mobile phone companies in Japan in a series of deals valued at around $550 million.
``There is good momentum in the stock and good newsflow and the Japanese deal is another important market that the company is getting in to,' said Tressan Macarthy, analyst at Credit Lyonnais Securities.
Yet analysts and traders said Vodafone may find it difficult to achieve much further progress after its strong advance in recent weeks.
Macarthy noted the stock had risen to near her target of 336 pence, having languished below 230p as recently as mid August. ``I still have it as a 'buy`` but it's not being given away any more,' the Credit Lyonnais analyst said. |
