A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's top-ranked* analysts:
** Jefferies downgrades Sweden-based construction company Skanska OMXSTO:SKA_B to "hold" from "buy" due to increased macro uncertainty, seeing a delayed recovery in the U.S. commercial and Nordic residential markets
** Kepler Cheuvreux downgrades Dutch food retail group Ahold Delhaize EURONEXT:AD to "hold" from "buy" due to weakness of the U.S. dollar
** Peel Hunt cuts UK retailer Next LSE:NXT to "hold" from "buy", stating that the company's shares are trading on a significant sector premium
** UBS raises UK technology provider Weir LSE:WEIR to "buy" from "neutral", seeing the cost savings from the company's performance excellence program exceeding the current guidance, while also crediting Weir as well-protected in the event of a downturn following recent tariffs.
INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS
** UBS initiates Norwegian general insurance provider Gjensidige Forsikring OSL:GJF with "neutral", saying the company has addressed claims inflation effectively, leading to positive market reactions, but notes that the recovery story is priced in
(*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.)