October 22, 2024

SAP's quarterly results beat expectations + STOCKS IN FOCUS: Fresenius and FMC rise—optimism ahead of quarterly results + Jefferies downgrades Basler to 'Hold'—target price nearly halved to 7 euros +

SAP $SAP (-0,39 %) reports an unexpectedly strong 27% increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to 2.24 billion euros in the third quarter and raises its full-year forecast. SAP shares rise 4% in after-hours trading.

Investors in Fresenius $FRE (-21,8 %) and Fresenius Medical Care $FME (-0,1 %) appear to be gaining confidence ahead of the quarterly earnings report due in early November. Fresenius shares, listed on the DAX, rose 1.4 percent in early afternoon trading—the best performer in the index—in an attempt to shake off the somewhat weaker trend seen since mid-September. Shares of Fresenius’s subsidiary FMC rose 2.1 percent on the MDAX, though they remained just below their interim high from early October. If they were to reach that level, they would be trading at prices last seen in mid-June. The third quarter is typically the weakest for the medical group Fresenius, but management is likely to convey optimism, wrote Berenberg analyst Victoria Lambert. It was not until mid-October that the company expressed confidence in reaching the upper end of its target range for full-year operating profit (EBIT). For dialysis provider FMC, growth in treatment volumes is likely to have finally turned positive in the third quarter, offsetting the impact of the mortality rate, according to the expert.

The research firm Jefferies has downgraded Basler $BSL (-1,13 %) from “Buy” to “Hold” based on the latest figures and nearly halved the price target from 13.50 to 7 euros. The machine vision specialist surprised the market with a comparatively sharp slowdown in order intake, wrote analyst Martin Comtesse in a report released on Tuesday. This followed three quarters of improvement. A profit warning, restructuring, and management changes were the consequences of the third quarter.

Tuesday: Stock Market Events, Economic Data, Quarterly Results

Ex-dividend dates for individual stocks

Dell $0.45

Quarterly Results / Corporate Events in the U.S. / Asia

12:30 3M | GE Aerospace | General Motors | RTX Quarterly Earnings

1:00 p.m. Philip Morris | Verizon Communications quarterly earnings

1:30 p.m. Lockheed Martin quarterly earnings

10:00 PM Texas Instruments Quarterly Earnings

No time specified: Paccar Quarterly Earnings

Quarterly Earnings / Corporate Events in Europe

3:00 a.m. Logitech quarterly earnings

2:00 p.m. Logitech earnings call

6:00 p.m. Flatexdegiro | Vivendi quarterly earnings | L'Oréal SA, 3Q revenue

7:00 p.m. Deutsche Börse quarterly results

No time specified: Givaudan SA: Start of Investor Day (through Oct. 23) | Randstad Quarterly Results | Tecan: Capital Markets Day

Economic Data

11:00 a.m. EU: Public Finances (2nd release) 2023 | Public Debt 2Q

11:00 a.m. Germany: German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV), press conference on the 2024 Wealth Barometer

2:30 p.m. US: Philadelphia Fed Services Index 10/24

3:00 PM US: International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook

3:15 p.m. US: ECB Governing Council Member Nagel, Speech at Harvard University

4:00 PM US: Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index 10/24

4:00 PM US: ECB President Lagarde, interview with Bloomberg TV

4:30 p.m. US: U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen, press conference at the start of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings

5:00 p.m. US: ECB Chief Economist Lane, interview at the New York Fed’s central bank seminar