FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Investors in SAP initially rewarded the confirmation of the annual forecast with a jump in the share price on Thursday morning. The share price rose by more than 7 percent to 129.76 euros. The high for the year, around two euros above, seemed within reach, but then the momentum faded. UBS analyst Michael Briest warned that the expectations for the future business in the cloud for the fourth quarter are quite high.

In the late morning, the Walldorf papers were still up almost 5 percent at 127 euros. They are thus back above their 50- and 100-day lines, which recently signaled a sideways movement of the shares. However, with an annual gain of 32 percent, the shares are among the best in the Dax in 2023. Following the recent price correction, the leading index is now only less than 8 percent ahead.

Despite the difficult economic conditions and increasing geopolitical tensions, SAP CEO Christian Klein expects an increase in sales and a significant rise in operating profit for the year as a whole. But to meet its confirmed full-year targets, SAP needs cloud business growth of 25 to 29 percent in the final quarter, UBS expert Briest said.

Overall, however, the assessments of the company's performance in this important area are very positive. Nay Soe Naing of Berenberg, for example, expects the momentum to increase in the fourth quarter. SAP's margin story has been underpinned, he said. Richard Nguyen of Societe Generale points to the very good order backlog./ag/ajx/tih