Salzgitter rises in early Frankfurt trade as MS upgrades stock to 'overweight'
BUZZ-Salzgitter rises in early Frankfurt trade as MS upgrades stock to 'overweight' ** Shares in Salzgitter SZGG.DE are up around 3% in early Frankfurt trade after Morgan Stanley raised its rating to "overweight" from "equal-weight"
** The broker says the German steel producer's setup has improved as earnings momentum builds into 2027
** "Our spot mark-to-market analysis points to ~10% upside to 2027 consensus EBITDA before fully capturing support from EU steel policy or improving expectations at Aurubis NAFG.DE," MS says
** It expects balance-sheet risk to become less of a constraint as the company moves past the SALCOS Phase 1 capex hump and German subsidies and the sale of treasury shares provide additional funding support
** The planned takeover of joint venture HKM adds another source of optionality, strengthening control over slab supply as Russian slab imports are phased out by 2028, the broker says
** Out of 13 analysts that cover Salzgitter, five rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", five "hold" and three "strong sell" or "sell" - LSEG data
(Reporting by Emanuele Berro)