any comments, thoughts, on this stock.

Anyway I've been short from 165p. I don't think it will reach that level anymore imo.

would concur with that, and i guess would let it run though you may want to top-slice to lock in some profits ...... am still pondering

Watching from the sidelines and feeling sicksick doing so. Surely with a 25p rights issue on the horizon from the preferred bidder this is bound to plunge soon. ? Has this price surge been induced by the vain hope that some white knight other than Branson is going to come forth ?

annie ... if on sidelines, why sick?

Cynic: You must have a stronger constitution than me if the gyrations in
this one is not making you feel "green about the gills !"

while i have no position, i can look on rather as i would a football match

OK so Virgin have put some of their cards on the table but what about the rumoured Flowers or others which now will feel under pressure to also show some cards. Hard to call long or short, didn't expect the jump this morning but can't help thinking if this happens again following others plans the sp could well go higher..!!

i rather suspect that Virgin have been given some kind of exclusivity for a limited period - say 2/3 months

i have an itchy finger to short, but have so managed to restrain myself as sp very slowly inches north - at least for the moment

RAB have backed this takeover and i believe the market sees longterm value. This means if you have a horizon longer than 3 years you could make good money

BROKERWATCH Northern Rock upped to 'hold' from 'sell' by Shore Capital




LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Shore Capital has upgraded its stance for
Northern Rock PLC to 'hold' from 'sell' following today's news that the troubled
UK mortgage lender is to take forward takeover discussions with the Virgin Money
consortium.
In a comment published today, Shore Capital said that further takeover
details provided today provide a useful benchmark against the other remaining
bid proposals for the UK group.
The broker said while there is uncertainty regarding shareholder approval,
it would expect the Virgin Money consortium's proposal to proceed in the absence
of a viable alternate offer.
As such, the proposal allows it to estimate a potential floor to Northern
Rock's share price, although with continued uncertainty over the bank's future
earnings, the focus is weighted towards its net asset value (NAV).
Assuming the transaction proceeds, the broker said it estimates Northern
Rock's post-completion NAV per share to be around 55 pence.
Shore Capital pointed out that due to the highly dilutive and discounted
nature of the proposal, bullish investors may see an opportunity to invest now
and gain access to the rights issue.
The broker added that at current share price levels, an investment of around
110 pence provides an opportunity to buy around 6 additional shares at 25 pence
each effectively 37 pence a share.
Shore Capital said, therefore, if an investor believes Northern Rock's share
price will trade at close to its NAV post-transaction, there is potential for
substantial upside.
Following this morning's announcement, the broker said it believe there is
greater clarity over the long-term future of the company.
Shore Capital concluded that, as such, supported by its post-completion NAV,
it now considers there to be limited further downside on an ex-rights issue
basis for Northern Rock shares, hence its upgrade to 'hold'.
At 2.21 pm, Northern Rock shares were trading 27.8 pence higher at 114.9.

tried shorting this afternoon at 115, but IG absolutely stuffed to the gills, presumably with bears and could not oblige ..... Shore Capital are actually very cagey in their statement, but reading between the lines, they too seem unconvinced that, post rights, sp will trade close to its NAV .... otherwise surely they would have commended better than hold

This is uncanny: I go away and do something useful for a time, come back, and find we're posting within couple of minutes of each other. Anyway, hope it's gone well for you today.

shouldn't compalin, and thanks ..... took profits on my "excess" in both IEC and POG and also my Dow long ...... bought PAG (questionable move!) and shorted Dow (looks promising)

I might as well have stayed out of RIO, too, but BLNX is picking up well, having bought back in at 17p last week. So I guess I do manage to get some things right at least!

poor reporting by the bbc , either RAB changed their mind or the bbc did!

UBS cut its target for the NRK to 125 pence from 195 today.

can't make head or tail of the price of NRK any more ...... i feel it ought to be a certain short, but indications are otherwise

Branson is to put up 200mil of his own money I hear, will that be in a fully guarenteed deposit account? Top shareholders feel the Virgin offer is cheeky and vastly undervalues the company......they would say that wouldn't they.

HEADING TO 1.40 MARK TODAY ,,WOULD BE NICE TO SEE AT 1.90 PLUS SOON