Top of the Street: Elekta, Straumann, Banco BPM, European beverages
05/10/2023 12:14
A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's
top-ranked* analysts:
** Kepler Cheuvreux expects beverage firms to reach
pre-COVID margins by 2025 and upgrades Pernod Ricard PERP.PA
and Carlsberg CARLb.CO to "hold" from "reduce", and Heineken
HEIN.AS to "buy" from "hold"
** The broker cites a recent decline in share prices for
Pernod Ricard and Carlsberg upgrades, while pointing to a
potential margin upside for Heineken in 2024 due to lower costs
and stronger performance in the Vietnamese market
** It also cuts Britvic BVIC.L to "hold" from "buy" on
"balanced" valuation, expecting "modest operating margin
improvements in the next few years"
INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS
** Barclays initiates coverage of Sweden's Elekta EKTAb.ST
with "underweight" citing risks to the radiation therapy
equipment maker's medium-term growth and margins
** The broker also starts Swiss dental maker Straumann
STMN.S at "overweight" saying sentiment among dentists around
the world, especially in China, is improving
** Morgan Stanley starts coverage of Italian Banco BPM
BAMI.MI with "overweight", pointing out to the bank's rising
capital optionality as a key catalyst
(*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 Marta Serafinko)
((Marta.Serafinko@thomsonreuters.com))