Top of the Street: European insurers, Sonova, Julius Baer, Swedbank, Elisa, Hemnet

Elisa Oyj

06/06/2025 11:57

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

** Deutsche Bank maintains a positive outlook on the European insurance sector, saying it is attractive with potential for growth and capital returns

** It raises Phoenix PHNX.L to "buy" from "hold" saying the British insurer is emerging after its management provided a clear path to deleveraging until 2026

** It upgrades Prudential PRU.L to "buy" from "hold" seeing new catalysts including a $2 billion additional share buyback for 2026 and 2027

** It cuts Legal & General LGEN.L to "hold" from "buy" as there is only 5% upside to its updated PT of 270p

** Kepler Cheuvreux upgrades Switzerland's Sonova SOON.S to "hold" from "reduce" seeing solid 12 months ahead for the world's largest maker of hearing aids

** UBS downgrades Julius Baer BAER.S to "neutral" from "buy", saying the Swiss private bank faces a long journey to re-rating despite its sensible strategy, realistic targets and access to growing wealth pools

** It cuts Swedbank SWEDa.ST to "neutral" from "buy" based on the Swedish lender's limited stock price upside and modest downside its 2027 ROE guide, mainly on higher capital levels

** UBS also downgrades Finnish telecom Elisa ELISA.HE on slower revenue trends, some riskier KPIs and higher growth guidances from Nordic peers

INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS

** J.P.Morgan starts Hemnet HEM.ST with "neutral", saying near-term trading visibility is marred for the Swedish residential property platform

(*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 Tiago Brandao)

 ((Tiago.Brandao@thomsonreuters.com;))