Chr Hansen's risk-reward now balanced, Barclays upgrades

Chr Hansen Holding A/S

04/01/2022 09:51

** Barclays raises Danish food ingredients maker Chr Hansen
Holding A/S  CHRH.CO  to "equal weight" from "underweight",
citing its significant de-rating relative to the wider market
    ** Barclays says Chr Hansen has "materially underperformed"
the ingredients market in the past year, resulting in its 40%
price-to-earnings premium vs. sector eroding to less than 10%
    ** "While visibility around Human Health's growth and margin
outlook remains relatively low, post the significant de-rating
we see the risk/reward as more balanced," the broker says
    ** It notes investor sentiment has been hit hard over the
last 12 months, particularly by a profit warning on HMOs (human
milk oligosaccharides) in Q1 2021 and a perceived medium-term
margin rebase in Q4 2021
    ** However, the broker says the company still has a
"top-quartile" organic sales growth outlook within global
ingredients market and the highest gross margins
    ** Chr Hansen shares are up 1.7% in morning trade
    ** Out of 14 analysts that cover Chr Hansen, ​one rates the
stock "buy", ​​eight "hold", and five​ "strong sell" or "sell"

 (Reporting by Agnieszka Gosciak)
 ((agnieszka.gosciak@thomsonreuters.com))