Top of the Street: Continental, Holcim, Heidelberg Materials

Continental AG

10/12/2025 12:49

A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's top-ranked* analysts:

** Barclays cuts German car parts maker Continental CONG.DE to "equal-weight" from "overweight" after strong post-spin-off run

** Morgan Stanley (MS) cuts Swiss cement maker Holcim HOLN.S to "equal-weight" from "overweight" on valuation and decarbonisation-led margin upside

** MS downgrades Germany's building materials group Heidelberg Materials HEIG.DE to "underweight" from "equal-weight" as shares re-rated, but already reflect the mid-term upside from potential German infraspend

** Exane BNP Paribas upgrades Sartorius SATG.DE to "outperform" from "neutral" on improving trends in equipment and a better funding environment

** The same brokerage downgrades Siemens Healthineers SHLG.DE to "neutral" from "outperform" given the parent firm's overhang, unclear timing and structure for a Diagnostics exit, and a limited upside to consensus

** Deutsche Bank cuts UK's home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L to "sell" from "hold", on weak 2026 retail outlook in Britain and Europe

** MS upgrades Swiss Belimo BEAN.S to "equal-weight" from "underweight" on stronger data center demand and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning growth outlook.

INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS

** Kepler Cheuvreux initiates British gambling firm Entain ENT.L at "hold" on regulated-market focus, high leverage and weak cash flow outlook

(*Analyst rankings from Thomson Reuters StarMine. The scale is from 1-star to 5-star with 5 being the best. Analysts are ranked on earnings accuracy as well as relative performance of recommendations over trailing 12-month & 24-month periods.)

(Reporting by Romolo Tosiani, Marta Serafinko)