UK’s IHG rises after J.P.Morgan double upgrade

** Shares of InterContinental Hotels Group IHG rise 3.3% to 9040p; top gainer on the FTSE 100 CURRENCYCOM:UK100 index

** J.P.Morgan double upgrades stock rating to "overweight" from "underweight" and hikes PT to 10,400p from 8,500p

** "We expect the market to increasingly focus on NUG (net unit growth) and ancillary fee growth in the absence of RevPAR (revenue per available room) growth, both of which less reliant on macro. IHG made sound progress on both." - JPM

** JPM says IHG has the most defensive business model across European hotels

** Six of 18 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, seven "hold" and five "sell" or lower; their median PT is 8,965p, as per data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, stock down 9.6%