Merlin Entertainments Share Discussion Threads

[gorse] 02/12/2014 14:24

With travel being an important part of many "Merlin Days Out", Merlin might well be a beneficiary of the drop in petrol prices. I'm going to hang on to my shares.

[broadwood] 02/12/2014 14:16

Merlin Entertainments

Merlin Entertainments runs 100 theme parks and visitor attractions in 22 countries across four continents. The company is the second-largest operator in the world to Walt Disney.

Merlin’s portfolio of brands — which include Alton Towers, Legoland and Madame Tussauds — was put together over the past couple of decades, but the company was only floated on the stock market as recently as last year.

Like Hikma, Merlin currently sits just outside the FTSE 100 and trades on a premium rating: the market cap is £3.8bn, and the P/E is 22 at a share price of 379p. With growth in annual visitor numbers running in double digits and an increasing international rollout of the company’s brands, it may not be long before Merlin gets to the front of the queue for entry into the FTSE 100

[salpara111] 02/12/2014 09:06

Solid results.
I am planning on holding these for the long term as they have a nice rollout model and plenty of opportunities to grow the business.
The share price needs to be closer to 400p for them to get into the FTSE 100 so I don't think they will make it by tomorrow but that is really immaterial as they will get there at some point in the not too distant future.

[eaaxs06] 27/11/2014 23:34

To get in the FTSE100, Merlin would probably need to be valued around about the £3.8b level. With 1b shares in issue, that would imply a target price of around £3.80.

Given the current price of £3.66. and review date is based on prices at the end of day, Tues 9th Dec, there are 8 trading days to go.

It is possible.

[salpara111] 27/11/2014 17:03

The market cap puts it just outside FTSE 100 automatic promotion which makes it an interesting play over the next few months.
It is very unlikely that it will make it for the next review in a few weeks but if it continues to cycle up it will get in at the next review in early March.
Clearly a lot can happen before then....both good or bad so worth watching.
I have been holding since the float and am happy to continue to hold for the near term future.

[eaaxs06] 27/11/2014 11:40

Merlin’s a very interesting share for the chart watchers. Quite often there are is a week/8 days or so of steady gains, then dropping back/consolidation for a few days.

It looks to me like a small fund manager/private investor is building a stake in a (relatively) small company. I’m not saying it’s for a bid, just taking a reasonable stake in the company.

So (if I’m right) and it’s on another good day today, I’d expect to see more steady gains in the next week.

Interesting.

[jameswedge] 01/8/2014 13:55

The share price is all over the place......

[salpara111] 01/8/2014 12:25

Interesting that the writeup in the FT today started by focusing on the problems with their business in Thailand rather than the 90% of their business that performed well.
I often wonder what sort of agenda the writers have when they do this sort of thing.

[salpara111] 31/7/2014 09:40

Agreed, a good solid statement but no share price reaction.
I am pleased/surprised to see a divi at this point and although the yield will be pretty small it is nice to see them start to pay out.

[johnthespacer] 31/7/2014 07:35

Nice Half year report + Maiden Interim Dividend of 2p

Sounds good

[surething1] 29/7/2014 09:01

hxxp://www.wkrb13.com/markets/340270/merlin-entertainments-plc-given-consensus-rating-of-buy-by-brokerages-lonmerl/

Trading update on Thursday

[salpara111] 28/7/2014 09:33

Hmm, I have held this since flotation and while I am ahead it is not by much and my bigger concern is that they appear to be underperforming the market having failed to gain any upward traction since floating. Having said that, it does strike me as a pretty safe longer term play given the geographical diversity of its end markets so I guess I will continue to hold and see if it can bounce back up to the top end of its trading range and at that point I will make a decision about whether to exit or stay in.

[surething1] 04/7/2014 07:49

Tipped in Investor Chronicle

[surething1] 03/7/2014 07:58

Panmure Gordon restated their buy rating on shares of Merlin Entertainments PLC (LON:MERL) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The firm currently has a GBX 446 ($7.60) price target on the stock

[surething1] 03/7/2014 07:53

JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated their overweight rating on shares of Merlin Entertainments PLC (LON:MERL) in a report issued on Tuesday

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MERL. Analysts at Panmure Gordon reiterated a buy rating on shares of Merlin Entertainments PLC in a research note on Monday. They now have a GBX 446 ($7.60) price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Merlin Entertainments PLC in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They now have a GBX 380 ($6.47) price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Beaufort Securities reiterated a buy rating on shares of Merlin Entertainments PLC in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Merlin Entertainments PLC currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 406.57 ($6.93).

[surething1] 01/7/2014 16:35

JPM issued an Overweight note today

[surething1] 08/6/2014 11:00

hxxp://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/05/15/lego-boston-looks-amazing/n8IAzmXQzbWHyLqDHE53KJ/story.html

'Lego Boston Looks Amazing'

[surething1] 08/6/2014 10:52

hxxp://time.com/106983/lego-movie-spinoff-ninjago-release-date/

Releases of Lego movies in both 2016 and 2017

[surething1] 08/6/2014 10:45

'How Is Legoland Becoming Florida's New Must-see Attraction?'

www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-hill/how-is-legoland-becoming_b_5390989.html

[surething1] 08/6/2014 10:40

Nice view from Orlando Eye

[surething1] 08/6/2014 10:26

hxxp://www.blooloop.com/news/merlin-entertainment-announce-opening-of-madame-tu/28210

Merlin Entertainments have announced the opening of Madame Tussauds Beijing which welcomed over 3,500 visitors on its first day.

[humpo2] 19/5/2014 16:49

Nice £250k buy after the bell.

[humpo2] 19/5/2014 14:58

Blimey nice shake

[broadwood] 19/5/2014 06:34

Current investors in Merlin Entertainment should hold on to their shares and potential new investors may want to consider buying on weakness, the Mail on Sunday's Midas tipster advised in an update. The owner of Madame Tussauds and Legoland's shares have risen almost 8% since Midas tipped its flotation in November. Merlin should benefit from increased international travel and more people from emerging markets who want to visit its attractions.