FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Rheinmetall shares reacted positively to preliminary quarterly figures on Wednesday. The defense contractor performed surprisingly well, wrote analyst Christian Cohrs of Warburg Research. In the meantime, the shares gained almost 3.5 percent to 510.80 euros as the best value in the weaker Dax.

Although seasonal patterns show that the second quarter of the year is usually less important for the results for the year as a whole, Cohrs wrote that after the higher and better-than-expected operating profit, confidence is growing that Rheinmetall will achieve or even slightly exceed its ambitious targets for 2024.

Victor Allard from Goldman Sachs expressed a similar view. The Düsseldorf-based company's sales growth and operating profit margin (EBIT margin) were higher than the market had expected. Investors should be pleased about this, as Rheinmetall was now able to achieve its annual targets more easily.

Rheinmetall shares, which have been driven by the armaments boom since Russia's attack on Ukraine, have lost some ground since their record high of 571.80 euros at the beginning of April, when they almost doubled since the beginning of the year.

In order to leave the somewhat weaker price trend behind them, the shares would first have to overcome the 50-day line for the medium-term trend, which runs at just under 507 euros. However, they are currently finding this difficult. They would also have to rise above the interim high of EUR 520 in mid-July in order to break the prevailing correction trend./ajx/ag/mis