FTSE 100 movers: Vistry recovers; Sainsbury's hit by share placing

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8,259.17 in afternoon trade on Friday. Vistry was the standout gainer on the index, recovering after heavy falls earlier in the week on the back of a profit warning.

In a note on Friday, JPMorgan Cazenove cut its recommendation on shares of the housebuilder from 'overweight' to 'neutral' and slashed its target price by more than a third after the profit warning, saying that the company needs to "restore confidence" among investors.

Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Redrow were also in the black following an upbeat research note by Stifel.

Stifel upgraded Barratt Redrow to 'buy' from 'hold' and said Taylor Wimpey remained a "top pick".

On the downside, Sainsbury's slumped after its biggest shareholder, Qatar Investment Authority, placed 109m shares in the supermarket chain.

The shares were placed via Goldman Sachs at 280p each, which is a discount of around 2.8% to the closing share price on Thursday.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: "QIA first invested in Sainsbury's in 2007 and at one point owned approximately a quarter of the group. Sainsbury's share price last year bounced back after a difficult period, helped by the company making good strides with its food-first strategy. Like rivals Tesco and Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's seems to have found the right recipe for success and has been fighting off competition from weaker rivals Asda and Morrisons to take market share.

"QIA might feel that now is a good time to trim its stake in Sainsbury's, selling into a market where other investors have become more interested in the supermarket. The fact it managed to offload a large chunk of shares at only a 2.8% discount to last night's closing price implies there was decent demand."