** Shares in Italy's gas grid operator Snam MIL:SRG down 1.3% after brokerage Exane BNP cuts its rating to "neutral" from "outperform"
** Brokerage downgrades after co reported around 30% YTD growth, in line with strong sector performance
** The brokerage flags Snam as "not expensive but after the strong performance, earnings growth is needed to justify further upside, and Snam has amongst the least in the sector"
** Exane also outpoints a lack of significant catalysts in the short term
** "We think Snam could unlock value by accelerating the divestments of non-core associates or increasing the dividend policy," Exane says
** Exane points to a target price of 5.5 euros ($6,34) per share from 5.7 euros previously stated
** "Termination of the OGE acquisition represents a setback which the company will need to address," it says
** Of 19 analysts that cover Snam, eight rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy," eight rate "hold" and three rate the stock "strong sell" or "sell" - LSEG data
($1 = 0.8676 euros)