Shares of U.K.-listed cybersecurity firm that made its debut in April slide after analyst hits it with a sell rating

“Its growth has been driven by its powerful go-to-market strategy, targeting the need for companies to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses. While we believe strong growth rates will continue, we also see a disconnect between the valuation and the ultimate revenue opportunity,” said Bjerke and the team.

“Having considered the potential marketsize, the intensifying competition, and Darktrace’s limited R&D [research and development] spend, we take a more grounded approach to our valuation, giving a target price of 473p,” said the analysts.

Elsewhere, banks and energy names were keeping the FTSE 100 in the black on Monday as the rest of Europe struggled for traction.

The FTSE 100
UKX,
+0.25%
rose nearly 0.4% to 7,231. The pound
GBPUSD,
+0.06%
was modestly higher at $1.3756. The best sector across the London Stock Exchange was financials and the worst was technology.

Heavyweight HSBC
HSBC,
+1.45%
stock climbed 1% after the banking giant reported third-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, beating expectations, and announced a share-buyback program of up to $2 billion.

The earnings beat was lifted by a substantial net ECL (expected credit loss) release of $659 million, noted John Cronin and Ronan Dunphy, Goodbody analysts in a note to clients. The company also flagged “an improving revenue environment with fee growth across many of its businesses” and net interest income stabilization with growth expected in the coming quarter, they added.

Associated British Foods
ABF,
+1.39%
was the biggest gainer in the FTSE 100, up around 1.8%.

Energy companies led as U.S. crude prices
CL00,
+0.60%
pushed to $85 a barrel and Brent
BRN00,
-0.26%
topped that level. Shares of BP
BP,
+1.59%

BP,
+0.59%
and Royal Dutch Shell
RDS.A,
+0.62%

RDSA,
+1.52%
rose by more than 1% each.