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(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Berenberg lifted their target price for Informa from 965p to 1,040p on Friday, stating the firm's firsthalf results and FY27 outlook underscored a stronger growth profile than previously assumed.
Berenberg noted H126 revenue and adjusted operating profits came in 1.6% and 4% ahead of consensus, respectively, with Informa reiterating guidance for around 6% underlying revenue growth and doubledigit earnings per share expansion in FY27 despite ongoing Middle East disruption.
It highlighted that 2027 should be a "strong biennial year", supported by deferred event revenues and early visibility, with around $800m already committed or visible for H127.
Berenberg highlighted 8% underlying growth in business-to-business events, with seven major brands scheduled in the Middle East in H2 and around 315m of regional exposure included in guidance.
In its academic markets unit, underlying growth was 5.4%, excluding AI licensing deals, and Berenberg expects Informa to receive around 25m net from its recent Anthropic settlement. Berenberg also pointed to Informa's new 100m buyback, taking FY26 repurchases to 350m, as a further sign of confidence.
The German bank kept its FY26 EPS forecast, but raised FY27-28 estimates by around 2%, citing stronger momentum and capital returns, and stated the shares looked attractive on 14x FY27 earnings.
Greggs tumbled on Friday as RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to 'sector perform' from 'outperform' following the bakery chain's first-half results.
The Canadian bank noted that Greggs reassured at the profit line for FY26 through strong cost management, a less inflationary environment and growth in grocery.
"Looking ahead though, we believe further cost savings could be harder to come by, inflation will likely necessitate further price increases, leading to continued volume weakness," it said. "Meanwhile, a slowing rollout, which may represent greater discipline, is ultimately not a good sign."
RBC said it was making small tweaks to its estimates, increasing its underlying pre-tax profit forecast by around 2% in FY26, while reducing by roughly 1% in FY27, with its target price rising to 1,960p from 1,830p, justifying a downgrade to sector perform.