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FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Rheinmetall shares continued their record run on Thursday after final quarterly figures and the announcement of the production of space satellites. In late afternoon trading, they rose to €1,711.50, an all-time high. With a gain of 4.1 percent to €1,701.00, the defense company's stock ultimately closed as one of the strongest DAX performers on that day.
Measured against the low of 933 euros at the beginning of April, the stock has already risen by just over 80 percent, and by almost 180 percent since the beginning of the year. The total market capitalization now stands at just under 78 billion euros.
The details of the preliminary quarterly figures provided further indications that the outlook has upside potential, commented Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie. Expert David Perry from US bank JPMorgan particularly praised the strong free cash flow. Alexander Neuberger of Bankhaus Metzler raised his target price for Rheinmetall from €1,450 to €1,980. Some other analysts are even more optimistic about Rheinmetall: Morningstar currently has the highest target price at 2,220 euros, followed by Morgan Stanley and MWB Research, both of which have a target price of 2,000 euros.
The share price story of the automotive supplier and defense company has been breathtaking since Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. That year, the stock surged by nearly 125 percent to become the strongest performer in the MDax. In March 2023, Rheinmetall was promoted to the DAX, where the stock became investors' favorite for the year as a whole, gaining just over 50 percent. In 2024, it finally became the second-strongest performer after Siemens Energy, rising by just over 110 percent. /ck/he
