EssilorLuxottica is wavering on the Paris Bourse Thursday morning after its CEO said he was open to the Italian government taking a stake in the company, and after results deemed mixed.

At 09:00 GMT, the share price was down 0.15%, having fallen by as much as 4.84%, while the CAC 40 was up 0.89% at the same time.

The group is ready to welcome the Italian state as a new shareholder if it wished to behave like the French state, which supports EssilorLuxottica, said CEO Francesco Milleri in an interview with the daily La Repubblica published on Thursday.

The executive's statements worried the markets, which are otherwise digesting the group's results.

Analysts at JP Morgan described the results as "mixed": while sales rose by 7.1% year-on-year to 6.25 billion euros, margins suffered from inflation and investments.

The broker indicates that the Ebit margin fell to 14.6%, down 40 basis points year-on-year, and lowers its target price from 215 euros to 205 euros.

"The group's results should encourage a pause in the rise of EssilorLuxottica's share price, which has posted a strong performance recently", noted Bernstein analysts in a note published before the opening.

The group has nevertheless maintained its target of a margin of 19% to 20% by 2026, recalls Jefferies in a note.

EssilorLuxottica has rebounded by 19.4% since its low point in early October.

(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)