STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-JD Wetherspoon up; M. Stanley upgrades

Shares in JD Wetherspoon (JDW.L) gain 6.5 percent, taking second place on the FTSE 250 .FTMC leaderboard, as Morgan Stanley upgrades its rating on the pubs group to "overweight" from "underweight".

Morgan Stanley says, in a note, it sees JD Wetherspoon as a "long-term winner" in the pub industry, and with the shares off 18 percent in the last three months, "(it) think(s) the refinancing risks are well reflected in the price".

"Its market share gains are accelerating, and we expect it to continue to generate 2-3 percent (like-for-like) sales growth in the medium term, enough to drive consistent double-digit EPS growth," says the broker, which lifts its target price to 480 pence from 440 pence.

Reuters Messaging rm://tricia.wright1.reuters.com@reuters.net