LONDON (AP) - Shares in DSG International PLC rose 21 percent Friday from a 20-year low after Credit Suisse raised its rating of the stock to "outperform" on the basis that market concern over the economic slowdown had left the stock too cheap.
Shares in DSG, Britain's largest consumer electronics retailer and owner of chains such as PC World and Currys, gained 4 pence ($0.06) — or 40 percent — to 15 pence ($0.22) in morning trading on the London Stock Exchange. In later trading, shares in the company settled at 13 pence ($0.19).
"The risk of a near term financial failure is in our view being over discounted by the market," said Credit Suisse's Friday report, which upgraded the stock's rating from "underperform" previously.
However, DSG's rally does little to erase the serious damage the company's stock has suffered this year on the back of falling sales — down 7 percent in the six months to Oct. 18 — and analyst concern that the retailer's business model, which relies on sales from small stores in city centers, is outdated in the age of online shopping.
Despite Friday's gain, DSG has seen its market value fall by around 85 percent this year. |