THE TREND
(Boursier.com) — The CAC40 returned above 7,600 points this Friday thanks to a gain of 0.6% (7,633 points), thus regaining most of the ground lost yesterday (-0.88%) after the absolute record of almost 7,703 points on Wednesday (in session).
This afternoon we are awaiting the publication of the monthly report on American employment which, depending on its content, could change the situation or accentuate the initial movement. While investors continue to bet on significant monetary easing from the first half of the year, stronger than expected resistance from the labor market could revive fears that the Fed will not lower its rates as sharply as expected, so that its president, Jerome Powell, has already ruled out the possibility of a first cut in the key interest rate in March. Last night, the quarterly results from Meta and Amazon pleasantly surprised and continue to support the entire “tech” segment.
RISING VALUES
* Vallourec jumped almost 6% to 14.5 euros. It must be said that the specialist in seamless tubes has announced that its 2023 results will ultimately be higher than its previous outlook. The Gross Operating Profit (GRO) for the closed financial year should be higher than 1.190 billion euros (between 1.075 and 1.175 billion euros previously). The EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2023 would thus exceed 275 million euros. Overall cash generation in the fourth quarter of 2023, previously expected to be positive, is expected to exceed 140 ME, which includes around 37 ME linked to the sale of the Muelheim site. “The Group achieved its best Gross Operating Profit and its best cash generation in almost 15 years. Following our reduction in debt, we aim to achieve a significant return to shareholders, potentially as early as 2025,” declared Philippe Guillemot, CEO from Vallourec.
* Stellantis gained 2.4% to 21.3 euros). The Peugeot brand posted a good commercial performance in France in January and took leadership of the VP+LCV market with a market share of 16.8%, and an increase of 15.6% in its sales volumes, in a growing market. increase of 8.6%. Peugeot also takes leadership of the passenger vehicle market with 16.7% market share, and an increase of 15.4% in its sales volumes vs. 2023. Peugeot ranks first in the B2B market in France in January 2023 in VP+LCV with in particular the first place occupied by the Peugeot 308. The Peugeot 208 ranks at the top of the best-selling passenger vehicles in France with a market share of 6.8%, up 1.5 points vs. January 2023. The Peugeot e-208 is also number one in the private electric car segment with 10.9% market share.
* Saffron rose by 0.9% to 174.80 euros while Morgan Stanley remains ‘overweight’ on the issue with a price target raised from 194 to 200 euros. Goldman Sachs yesterday downgraded the aeronautical equipment manufacturer to ‘neutral’, targeting a price of “only” 182 euros. The bank mentioned “limited room for maneuver” for a potential revaluation of the consensus and a strong recent outperformance compared to peers…
* Schneider Electric rises 1.8% this Friday to 189 euros, while SG remains a buy on the file by raising its target from 190 to 215 euros.
FALLING VALUES
* Pluxee fell back by 3.7% this Friday to 28.80 euros, while the group resulting from the Sodexo ‘spin-off’ saw its first listing take place with a sharp increase yesterday on the Paris stock exchange. The Pluxee spin-off was implemented according to the defined schedule, namely the detachment and the first listing on Euronext Paris on February 1. Delivery of Pluxee shares to shareholders is scheduled for February 5.
* Lectra fell by 3.5% to 31.6 euros at the end of the morning in Paris. The selling pressure on the stock is linked to a note from SocGen which downgraded the file to ‘keep’ with a target of 35 euros. Analysts are very divided on the company specializing in software and automatic cutting systems since, according to the ‘Bloomberg’ consensus, 2 are ‘positive’, 2 are ‘neutral’ and 1 is ‘negative’. The average twelve-month objective is set at 32.5 euros.
* BNP Paribas fails to rebound after falling 9% yesterday in the wake of lower-than-expected results in the fourth quarter. The bank was particularly penalized by a series of exceptional charges and a weakening of activities linked to consumer credit and commercial real estate. Over the last three months of 2023, the financial institution saw its net income, group share, fall by 50% to 1.07 billion euros, compared to a consensus of €2 billion, for net banking income up slightly from 0. 1% to 10.9 billion euros (11.45 billion euros consensus). Among the latest broker opinions, RBC Capital remains at ‘outperform’ on BNP Paribas but with an adjusted price target of 82 to 77 euros.
* Rexel lost 0.6% to 24.5 euros. SocGen downgraded Rexel to ‘sell’ targeting 22 euros.