JPM turns more positive on Europe's stainless steel
BUZZ-JPM turns more positive on Europe's stainless steel ** J.P. Morgan upgrades Aperam APAM.AS and Outokumpu OUT1V.HE to "overweight" and Acerinox ACX.MC to "neutral" as it turns more positive on European stainless steel producers
** It expects European demand to recover in Q4 2026 as summer seasonality passes and downstream customers begin restocking
** It sees Aperam benefiting from an improving European backdrop and highlights the company's diversification into higher-value segments such as aerospace, defence and electronics
** Aperam's November capital markets day should also support a re-rating, it adds
** JPM says Outokumpu's 70% exposure to Europe provides high leverage to pricing recovery and a "superior earnings inflection" in the stainless steel segment
** Acerinox screens as relatively more expensive than its peers after rising significantly this year, which limits further upside, the broker says
** It, however, notes Acerinox's exposure to the higher-margin U.S. market and speciality alloys
COMPANY | RATING | OLD RATING | PT | OLD PT |
Aperam | overweight | neutral | €57 | €46.1 |
Outokumpu | overweight | neutral | €6.5 | €5.1 |
Acerinox | neutral | underweight | €16.1 | €14.4 |
(Reporting by Jerome Terroy, Marta Serafinko and Marta Frackowiak)
((jerome.terroy@thomsonreuters.com, marta.serafinko@thomsonreuters.commailto:marta.frackowiak@thomsonreuters.com))