Air Liquide was the second-biggest riser on the CAC 40 index on the Paris Bourse this Thursday, after Berenberg upgraded its recommendation on the stock to 'buy'.

Shortly before 10.30 a.m., the French industrial gases specialist's share price climbed 1.6%, just behind Capgemini (+1.9%), which is benefiting from the craze for technology stocks following the good results published by Nvidia.

This morning, Berenberg raised its recommendation on Air Liquide to 'buy' from 'hold', with a price target raised from €165 to €178.

In its research note, the German bank praises the industrial group's 'better-than-expected' operational discipline.

The reason why we held a neutral opinion on Air Liquide for some time was our concern about possible over-investment in the highly fragmented hydrogen and ammonia segment", says the intermediary.

Berenberg explains that it feared that this strategy would lead the group to move away from its traditional business model based on take-or-pay contracts, so characteristic of the sector.

On the contrary, the last few quarters have shown that the company is paying close attention to its investment policy, despite a stronger balance sheet that could encourage it to increase spending", he points out.

On the stock market, Air Liquide shares are now up over 24% since the start of the year, making them one of the strongest annual gains in the CAC 40 index, alongside STM, Hermès, Saint-Gobain, Stellantis and Safran.

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