Market Report: Peppa Pig rights holder Entertainment One stages comeback

No wallowing from Entertainment One, the film and TV rights firm behind Peppa Pig, which came out fighting after concerns about its debt refinancing triggered a 20% share price slump.

Peel Hunt’s Malcolm Morgan slashed his revenue and earnings forecasts yesterday on the back of a £285 million debt refinancing on less favourable terms.

Today, the FTSE 250 company, which has lost more than half its value since July, explained the move would mean it will not be hamstrung after acquisitions as it had been in the past.

Morgan stuck to his 200p target price but slapped a Buy rating on the stock on the expectation the shares would soar — which they did, up 14.97p or 11% to 155.87p.

Chief executive Darren Throop showed his faith in a comeback after gobbling up more than £180,000 worth of stock.

After a steady start, the miners went into freefall again, digging the FTSE 100 31.81 points lower to 6103.41.

Embattled miner Anglo American tumbled further, down 24.95p to 298.7p after yesterday’s drastic cost-cutting measures were unveiled, and for the first time this year overtook Glencore as the frontrunner for the unenviable prize of the Footsie’s wooden spoon.

Today’s 7.7% nosedive means the stock has crashed 75% in 2015, compared with Glencore’s 74% collapse.

A cut to earnings forecasts by Deutsche Bank hurt Pearson, down 28.87p to 735.13p. The education publisher is hotly tipped to join the list of companies to have cut their dividends this year.

Carillion, the most shorted stock on the LSE with almost 18% of its shares out on loan to investors betting against a rise, rose 9.1p to 311p as the construction services firm confirmed it is on track to hit its annual targets.

Much to the disappointment of short-sellers, which include BlackRock and David Fear’s Thunderbird Partners, it also announced new contracts worth £1 billion.

Meanwhile, Balfour Beatty, which Carillion tried and failed to buy last year, gained 4.7p to 267.1p after an encouraging trading update.

On AIM, annual results from Focusrite, whose music equipment is used by hit British band Rudimental, struck a bum note with investors, plunging 37.6p or 20% to 152.4p and wiping out gains made in the run-up to the full-year figures, which revealed a 17% rise in revenues to £48 million.