FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Praise from an analyst boosted shares in food delivery companies across Europe on Thursday. Price gains ranged from 4.9 percent for Delivery Hero to 6.5 percent for Just Eat Takeaway and 12.6 percent for Deliveroo. In its Internet Sector Outlook 2025, JPMorgan was generally optimistic about food delivery services, which it prefers to the recently favored classified ad providers in the future.

Analyst Marcus Diebel radiated new optimism for the British Deliveroo Group in particular, upgrading its shares to "overweight". His vote was in line with his already positive assessments of the shares of Delivery Hero and Just Eat Takeaway. For MDax member Delivery Hero, he sees the greatest upside potential of the three sector stocks, measured by the price target of more than half.

After difficult years in 2022 and 2023, Diebel believes the fundamental situation for delivery services has improved significantly. The companies have turned away from expensive measures to increase market share and their presence in new markets. They are now focusing more on the essentials again, namely profit. He believes that the companies can defy the weak economic environment and achieve average growth in operating profit of more than 15 percent per year.

Among the three stocks, Delivery Hero stands out positively this year. The Berlin-based company's share price has now risen to 42 percent, despite hitting a record low in February. The share was recently buoyed by the trial for a borrower's exit of the Middle East brand Talabat, which was completed at the end of November. This was followed by two days of profit-taking in December, with prices now rising again./tih/ngu/jha/