FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Fears of possible penalties in an antitrust investigation in Portugal pushed shares in Synlab to a record low on Thursday. The papers of the laboratory services provider, which went public in April 2021, last fell 6.2 percent to 10.97 euros in morning trading. At times, they still cost 10 cents less, which was the lowest level so far in the still quite young history of the stock exchange. Analysts, however, see the mood for the papers rather burdened and less the fundamentals of the company.

As Europe's largest laboratory operator had announced on Wednesday evening, the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) has initiated proceedings against two subsidiaries. According to the report, the two Synlab subsidiaries, along with competitors and a local industry association, allegedly violated competition law between 2016 and March 2022.

According to one trader, while AdC's move is negative for Synlab, the expected share price drop is exaggerated, according to him. "The allegations are country-specific and limited to activities of the two subsidiaries in this country," he said, explaining his assessment, which is also confirmed by analyst James Vane-Tempest. The antitrust proceedings initiated in the southern European country are likely to affect sentiment rather than fundamentals, wrote the Jefferies Research expert.

As Deutsche Bank analyst Jan Koch wrote, the AdC "obviously objects to the fact that there was collusion during the period mentioned, although it should be noted that prices for diagnostic tests are generally regulated in Portugal." Because Synlab was only informed of the allegations on Wednesday, estimates of the possible consequences on the part of the company were not yet possible, he said. However, Koch points to cases of other companies from the past and expects that the possible consequences, "if any," will most likely be limited to a fine in the low double-digit millions.

Koch is not surprised, however, that Synlab shares are currently under pressure: "Portugal accounts for three percent of Synlab's group sales, which is above the group average." However, not all of Synlab's business units in Portugal are affected by the accusations, the Deutsche Bank expert qualifies.

However, Synlab shares have been under pressure for some time. After the IPO, it initially went up to a best of 25 euros until November 2021. Then, however, the Corona momentum let up, the price turned downward. Since then, the shares have lost around 56 euros in value. This means that the shares are now trading well below the price of 18 euros at which they were floated in spring 2021./ck/niw/la/mis