(new: more details, JPMorgan comment, prices updated)
FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - After three consecutive trading days of losses, shares in Delivery Hero began to recover on Monday. A commentary from Barclays Bank regarding possible transactions provided a boost, coming just days after JPMorgan had highlighted similar opportunities for the food delivery company.
By the afternoon, the stock was up 7.4 percent at €25.35, making it one of the top performers in the MDax index of mid-cap companies. On Friday, the downward trend had been halted by the 200-day moving average, which signals the long-term trend of the stock and acted as support. Now, the shares have also climbed back above the 21-day moving average, which indicates the short-term trend.
Delivery Hero's share price has experienced sharp ups and downs in recent months. After rising to just below €30 in September 2025, a correction pushed the stock back below €16 by November. Since then, the trend has been predominantly upward once again.
Recently, speculation about industry consolidation has provided a tailwind. In December, the company announced it was considering selling additional business units to increase its market value. Analyst Andrew Ross of Barclays Bank has now pointed to this room for strategic maneuvering, which led him to reduce his valuation discount. He raised his price target from €36.40 to €39.40 and reiterated his "Overweight" recommendation.
Ross therefore sees upside potential of just over 55 percent for the stock. While he expects 2026 to be a turbulent year for Delivery Hero in the Middle East and North Africa due to competition, he remains confident that recent regulatory changes in Qatar and Kuwait, where subsidiary Talabat operates, should be resolved in the second half of the year. He also sees further share price catalysts in company actions such as the transactions Delivery Hero is targeting. Other key milestones include the Annual General Meeting in June and the deadline in August for investor Prosus to sell its own shares.
JPMorgan analyst Marcus Diebel had already highlighted possible M&A transactions as key share price drivers a week ago. He noted that Prosus is unlikely to be satisfied with the acquisition of Just Eat. Regulators have required the investment company to significantly reduce its stake in Delivery Hero by August 2026, he wrote. However, Diebel assumes that Prosus will look for ways to benefit from Delivery Hero's success in Europe and Latin America over the long term.
He also pointed to Delivery Hero's December announcement to investors that it intends to take measures to increase its market value, including further sales of business units./ck/tih/he
