Top of the Street: Inditex, Sika, European chemicals, European banks, European carmakers

Kbc Ancora NV

24/11/2025 12:19

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

**  RBC upgrades Spanish fashion retailer Inditex  ITX.MC to "outperform" from "sector perform", saying it is one of the most "staples-like" companies in the retail sector

** Citigroup upgrades Swiss specialty chemicals company Sika SIKA.S  to "buy" from "neutral", as weakness from its China business is already priced into the stock

** Deutsche Bank says some companies in the European chemicals sector are facing a looming existential crisis, cuts Wacker Chemie WCHG.DE to "sell" from "hold", BASF BASFn.DE  to "hold" from "buy", but raises Givaudan  GIVN.S to "buy" from "hold" as it sees the health ingredients business continuing to grow

** Morgan Stanley sees accelerated net interest income growth in 2026 for European banks, upgrades Standard Chartered STAN.L to "overweight" from "equal-weight" on above-consensus revenue growth, while cutting KBC KBC.BR to "equal-weight" from "overweight" on valuation

INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS

** Goldman Sachs sees premium European carmakers as undervalued, initiates Mercedes  MBGn.DE and BMW BMWG.DE and Ferrari  RACE.MI with "buy"

** Jefferies initiates Nemetschek NEKG.DE at "buy", as it sees the German software developer as one of the fastest-growing software assets in Europe and well-positioned to help digitize the construction industry

(*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 Bernadette Hogg and Agnieszka Olenska)

 ((bernadette.hogg@thomsonreuters.com))