Top of the Street: Eni, Sartorius Stedim Biotech, Sartorius

Sartorius AG

30/07/2024 12:49

A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's
top-ranked* analysts:
    
    ** HSBC upgrades Eni  ENI.MI  to "buy" from "hold" as the
Italian energy group is making a faster-than-expected progress
on its divestment program, which, in the broker's view, should
lead to lower balance sheet gearing, and open more room for
buybacks

    
    INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS
    
    ** Bernstein starts Sartorius  SATG.DE  with "underperform,"
seeing a further cut to 2028 guidance as likely as the German
pharmaceutical equipment supplier "is at a critical juncture in
its equity story", in need to rapidly re-accelerate revenue
growth, with the Lab Products & Services (LPS) unit still "a
margin destroyer"
    ** Bernstein also initiates coverage of Sartorius' French
unit Sartorius Stedim Biotech  STDM.PA  with an "underperform"
rating, saying the company's second quarter results "confirmed
its weak position" versus peers, and seeing its 35% core EBITDA
margin for 2028 as "overly optimistic"

    
(*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 Frąckowiak and Elviira Luoma)
 ((marta.frackowiak@thomsonreuters.com;
elviira.luoma@thomsonreuters.com))