SILVERJET, the business class-only airline, yesterday became embroiled in a row with brokers Daniel Stewart after a damning analyst note caused its shares to nosedive more than 28 per cent.
Daniel Stewart analyst Mike Stoddart, covering the carrier for the first time, gave the airline a 0p target price and advised investors to “sell at any price” because the airline was “doomed to fail”.
The move forced Silverjet to issue a trading update after the market closed last night while the firm’s house broker, Arden Partners, reiterated its buy recommendation as passenger numbers for the coming months had been boosted by recent discounts and the failure of rival Maxjet. In his note, Stoddart said Silverjet was operating at a loss because it was only able to half-fill its planes with passengers.
Stoddart told CityA.M. that Silverjet chief executive Lawrence Hunt was demanding a retraction but he was standing by his note. Hunt said Stoddart was an “absolute muppet” for publishing the note which was riddled with “schoolboy errors”.
Hunt denied the airline’s business model was in trouble as a result of soaring fuel costs, and said it was in a strong cash position, had sold 5,000 bookings last week and was trading in line with expectations.
MD of Daniel Stewart quits after dispute with chairman
ALASTAIR CADE, the managing director of broker Daniel Stewart Securities, has abruptly left the company after a dispute with chairman Peter Shea, writes Anusha Bradley.
In a statement yesterday, Shea said Cade was leaving after 12 years to pursue other interests, though it is understood he left on Thursday. A source said yesterday that colleague Hamish Dickson, head of equities at the firm, left on Friday after siding with Cade. A Daniel Stewart spokesman declined to comment on the matter or what the dispute concerned.
A source close to the company said: “There was increasingly a difference of opinion between Alastair and Peter and they had a falling out.” Daniel Stewart is a City-based investment bank offering both corporate advisory and institutional stockbroking services that focus on small and mid-size companies