Shares round-up: Raspberry Pi surges 48%, NatWest, Glencore
It’s been a much better day for investors as many popular stocks rediscovered their mojo. Graeme Evans talks through the reasons for renewed optimism.
31st March 2026 15:38
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
Raspberry Pi at a past Maker Faire, the largest European event on innovation, in Rome. Photo: Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images.
AI-fuelled interest in Raspberry Pi Holdings (LSE:RPI) was today sustained by strong results as its shares joined coal-fired Glencore (LSE:GLEN) and lender NatWest Group (LSE:NWG) among the risers in a stronger FTSE 350 index.
The maker of high-performance, low-cost general-purpose computing platforms jumped by more than 40% at one point after 2025 pre-tax profits rose 63% to $26.5 million (£20 million) and it said that momentum seen in the second half had continued so far in 2026.
- Invest with ii: What is a Managed ISA? | Open a Managed ISA | Transfer an ISA
Despite last year’s surge in spot prices for the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) used in single-board computers and compute modules, Raspberry said its inventory position, supplier relationships and pricing flexibility meant it could navigate the situation effectively.
Chief executive and founder Eben Upton added: “We remain confident in our ability to execute and view the current market environment primarily as an opportunity rather than a threat.”
He said highlights in 2025 included September’s launch of Raspberry Pi 500+ all‑in‑one PC, which completed the company’s fifth-generation core product line-up and has freed up engineers to focus on work that will in due course lead to Raspberry Pi 6.
The Cambridge-based company shipped four million units in the second half, up 11% over the first half for an annual total of 7.6 million. Demand strengthened throughout the year across both industrial and authorised resellers, with notably strong demand from the US and China.
Upton said: “A decade and a half after shipping the first Raspberry Pi computer, we have built a cost‑effective, high‑performance general-purpose computing platform for professional engineers and innovators everywhere.”
- Stockwatch: is this a special situation amid the macro chaos?
- Important last-minute checklist for tax year end
Today’s share price spike is not the first time that the FTSE 250-listed company has surged in the past couple of months after interest was fuelled by social media posts flagging the potential of Raspberry Pi’s technology to run the AI assistant Open Claw.
Having gone below their June 2024 IPO starting point of 280p in early February, the shares hit 444p a couple of weeks later before falling back to 292p at last night’s close.
They surged back to 423.4p by this afternoon, which compares with Peel Hunt’s unchanged price target of 460p after the broker said it had increased confidence in its earnings forecasts.
The City firm added: “Every week, we hear how another open-source AI project has improved the ability of large language models to run on low-power computers such as Raspberry Pi.
“We believe the industry is at the cusp of an edge AI revolution. Given the current share price, we upgrade Raspberry Pi from Add to Buy and reiterate our 460p target price with increased confidence in 2026 estimates.”
The surge by Raspberry Pi came as the FTSE 250 index jumped 1.4% and FTSE 100 index rallied for a second successive session on hopes for an end to the Middle East conflict.
- What’s happened at 3i Group and is it now cheap?
- Sign up to our free newsletter for investment ideas, latest news and award-winning analysis
The broad-based advance by the blue-chip benchmark included further signs of recovery by NatWest, having fallen from 694p at the start of February to 520p on 20 March.
The shares have underperformed Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) by 13% so far this year, meaning they now trade at a 15% price/earnings (P/E) discount to NatWest’s fellow UK lender.
The selling pressure has been blamed on a £2.7 billion deal to expand in wealth management, which was accompanied by a year-long pause on share buybacks.
On Friday, Deutsche Bank analysts reiterated their support for NatWest by lifting their price target from 730p to 840p.
They said: “NatWest has unfairly derated in our view. We doubt that the uncertain macroeconomic environment will make a material difference to the outlook: higher rates offset lower growth and asset quality is maintained with relatively low unemployment.”
Glencore shares rose for another session, with today’s advance of 12.8p to a near-record level of 566.3p, meaning they are up by more than 140% since slumping to 230p in the aftermath of US President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs announcement.
As we reported at the time, long-serving finance director Steven Kalmin bought last April’s dip with a purchase at a four-year low price of 233p.
Glencore shares have been the best performing in the mining sector since the start of the war as the world’s largest seaborne thermal coal exporting company has benefited from a 17-month high for the price of coal.
With power generators switching from gas, Bank of America last week raised its forecast for the 2026 average Newcastle coal price to $150 a tonne.
It said: “Elevated gas prices should encourage more gas-to-coal switching. This is adding upward pressure to thermal coal prices, at a time when China and Indonesia, the world’s largest coal producers, have already been looking to rein in supply to support prices.”
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.