FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - High margin targets of Drägerwerk on Tuesday freed the share price of the medical and safety technology provider from its lurch of several months. In the morning, the SDax-listed shares rose by a double-digit percentage to 50.50 euros, reaching their highest level since the beginning of May. Most recently, the premium amounted to a good twelve percent at a price of 49.55 euros. This put them in first place by a clear margin in the moderately higher small-cap index.

The increased targets offered an attractive revaluation opportunity, commented analyst Alexander Galitsa of Hauck Aufhäuser Investment Banking in his initial reaction. With a view to the initially confirmed sales target range, he still sees room for improvement. In order to reach the upper end now targeted, even one of the weakest final quarters ever would suffice, he explained. The valuation is attractive. With his price target of 65 euros, he reflects a conservative assumption that Drägerwerk will sustainably achieve an operating profit margin (Ebit margin) of six percent, which would in any case earn the cost of capital, the analyst said.

His Warburg colleague Christian Ehmann emphasized that the Lübeck-based company is able to push through its prices in a highly competitive market, even under sustained cost pressure.

With the current price increase, the development of the shares since the beginning of the year also looks significantly better. With a current gain of 18.7 percent, Drägerwerk is at the top of the SDax. The interim high from the end of April at 51.40 euros is now the next target. Above this, it would be the highest price since the beginning of August 2022.

During the pandemic, Drägerwerk had at times been one of the most sought-after stocks on the German stock market because demand for ventilation equipment was high. In spring 2020, for example, they had soared to 108.50 euros, but were still below their record high from 2015./ajx/ag/tih