- Peel Hunt reiterates IAG ‘Hold’ recommendation
- Berenberg raises target price for Hikma Pharmaceuticals
- JP Morgan raises target price for Rolls Royce
- Berenberg downgrades BP to ‘Hold’
- Peel Hunt adds target price for Persimmon
Peel Hunt reiterates IAG ‘Hold’ recommendation
Peel Hunt has reiterated its ‘Hold’ rating and target price for International Consolidated Airlines LON:IAG this week following the announcement of full year results on 24th February. The FTSE100 owner of British Airways saw a strong recovery in its core markets following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, driving revenue momentum which saw the Group “return to profit with significantly positive operating cash flow”. Peel Hunt saw the latest full-year figures as “positive all around”, with 2023 capacity expected to recover to 98% of its 2019 levels and the acquisition of Air Europa now agreed but subject to regulatory and other approvals.
At the time of writing, shares were trading at 155.34p, up 20% for the year to date and 14% over the last 12 months.
Berenberg raises target price for Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Berenberg has raised their target price on Hikma Pharmaceuticals LON:HIK to 1,740.0p (1,440.0p) and reiterated their ‘Hold’ rating following the group’s trading update on 23rd February. The FTSE 250 Pharmaceutical business delivered a “resilient performance in 2022.” with the Injectables and Branded businesses performing well, “helping to partially offset the decline in Generics.” The broker noted “tough industry headwinds” for the Generics division and was “uncertain about the recovery outlook”.
Hikma noted in its trading update that it expected to “deliver good growth across all three of our businesses in 2023”.
On the same day, Barclays raised their target price for the company to 1,700p (1,650p) and reiterated their ‘Equal-Weight’ rating.
Shares were trading at 1,740.5p, up 7% for the year to date and down 13% over the last 12 months.
JP Morgan raises target price for Rolls Royce
JP Morgan has raised its target price for Rolls Royce LON:RR. to 90p (70p) this week and reiterated its ‘underweight’ rating following its full year results last week. The FTSE 100 defence and aerospace business highlighted improved profit and cash in 2022; and a transformation programme in place to deliver further performance improvements from 2023. The broker added a note of caution on plans to de-lever Rolls Royce’s balance sheet organically; commenting “we believe this is a risky strategy and leaves Rolls Royce highly vulnerable to any unexpected shocks in the next few years.”
At the time of writing, shares were trading at 146.28p, up 47% this year and +59% over the last 12 months.
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Berenberg downgrades BP to ‘Hold’
Berenberg has downgraded BP LON:BP. to ‘Hold’ (Buy) but raised its target price to 590p (560p) following a strong share price performance since the release of its trading update earlier this month. The broker highlighted record annual profits, a further $2.75bn share buyback and re-evaluation of its carbon emissions target. It also noted that the update was positive for shareholders and commented that BP’s “strategy is now more closely aligned to peers – while its valuation has moved to a premium.”
Shares were trading at 552.8p at the time of writing, up 14% on the year to date and +55% over the last 12 months.
Peel Hunt adds target price for Persimmon
Peel Hunt has added a target price of 1,190p and reiterated its ‘Hold’ rating today for Persimmon LON:PSN following the release of full year results from the Housebuilder. The update noted completions up 2% and average selling prices advancing by 4.6% whilst margins have been close to maintained. However, the business has cautioned that the impact of cost inflation and reduced sales volumes this year may erode margins by as much as 1300bps.
Shares were trading at 1,323.82p at the time of writing, up 4% on the year to date and -43% over the last 12 months.
