Broker tips: Imperial Brands, Beeks Financial Cloud
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 19 Oct 2026
(Sharecast News) - Jefferies downgraded Imperial Brands to 'hold' from 'buy' on Monday and slashed its price target on the stock to 2,700p from 3,500p.
It said that while IMB has proven proficient at growing value in the combustibles segment, the upcoming sharp, multi-year series of excise taxes in Germany may materially slow growth down.
"History suggests legal cigarette volume declines materially accelerate in such circumstances as the illicit trade grows, driving us to lower our Europe estimates," the bank said. "We detect a risk that F27 guidance could come below street estimates and see lower re-rating potential."
Canaccord Genuity cut its target price on Beeks Financial Cloud from 335p to 300p on Monday, while reiterating its 'buy' rating, saying the group continues to deliver solid growth and visibility into FY27 despite a softer first half.
The Canadian bank noted that FY26 revenues had risen 12% organically, with a sharp rebound in the second half as sales jumped 26% year‑on‑year and 73% sequentially. Private Cloud remained the main driver, accounting for around two‑thirds of revenues, while analytics and MEI software accelerated to 11% of the total in the second half. Annualised committed recurring revenue grew 15% to £34m.
Adjusted underlying earnings increased 20% with margins of 16.5%, although higher tax held earnings per share growth to low single digits. Free cash flow was held back by working capital movements and hardware investment linked to signed contracts and the rollout of Beeks' Global Network.
For FY27, Beeks guided to revenues of £43m to £48m, up 8% to 20%, with EBITDA margins of 38% to 42%. Canaccord kept its FY27 forecasts and introduced FY28 estimates, expecting low to mid‑teens revenue and EPS growth as new offerings - including Global Network and MEI analytics - expand the firm's addressable market.
Canaccord said its reduced target price reflected changes to forecasts and a valuation de‑rating among peers, but still implied a 71% upside.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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