The headlines of the day in Piazza Affari: Prysmian and Saipem under the lens

Financial markets under scrutiny following news of Israel’s attack on Iran. Shares are under pressure, with European stock markets opening lower (including Piazza Affari). However, some raw materials run, such asgold and oil which heat up in the presence of an escalation of geopolitical tensions. Military action seems to have been reversed for the moment but the question now is “the end of history or will we see a new phase?”.

According to the strategists of Mps Capital Services, the next few days will be decisive and will clarify whether this episode represents the end of history or whether it opens a new phase of the Israel-Iran confrontation (we would lean towards the first interpretation). “What is certain – the experts report – is that these developments have hit risky assets at a time of intrinsic fragility, with a mix of macro factors, in particular the stickiness of inflation and the reversal of expectations on the Fed, and micro , absence of good news (in excess of
those already priced in) capable of supporting high valuations, which are causing the first significant correction since the start of the rally at the end of October”.

Meanwhile, observing the performance of the Milan Stock Exchange, the Ftse Mib index follows the European declines and is currently losing around 1% to 33,511.13 points. Markets that come from a fairly uncertain week, especially Wall Street: at the moment the main stock exchange price list shows a weekly drop of around 0.6%, limited compared to the -3.5% and around -2% recorded at moment respectively the Nasdaq and the S&P500 as the partial balance sheet of the eighth.

Among the stocks to monitor today Prysmianbut also Saipem which is stationed at the bottom.

Saipem, week of declines

Saipem is preparing to end a week of declines. The stock, which still remains one of the best in the Ftse Mib for 2024, is preparing to close the eighth week with a balance of the week in the red (at the moment the partial weekly drop is around 7%). For the group led by Alessandro Puliti the week was marked by some analysts’ opinions, including that of Stifel which yesterday lowered its recommendation to hold from the previous buy. However, BoFa’s assessment remains positive and has revised the target price on Saipem upwards from 2.5 to 2.9 euros, with a buy rating.
In recent days, Barclays, in a report dedicated to the main stocks in the European energy services sector in view of the new round of quarterly reports, also confirmed its overweight recommendation on Saipem, with a target price of 2.9 euros. For the Italian group, the appointment with the quarterly accounts is now upon us and analysts in recent weeks have been positive about the numbers that could arrive on April 22nd (conference call on April 23rd).

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Prysmian, the Baptist era officially ends

Week under the spotlight for Prysmian at Piazza Affari, among the best stocks of the Ftse MIb of the eighth which is about to end. For the Italian big company that supplies cabling solutions on a global scale, it was the week of the announcement of the acquisition of Encore, but also the week of the end of the era of the historic CEO Valerio Battista. In his place Massimo Battaini.
Just yesterday the shareholders’ meeting confirmed the appointment of Massimo Battaini as the new CEO and general manager of Prysmian. “The new organizational structure which was created with the aim of supporting the strategic plan and the creation of value of the group thus becomes operational”, we read in the note which specifies that the new organisation, already anticipated last December, includes four business units – Transmission, Power Grid, Electrification and Digital Solutions – and is aimed at allowing maximum coverage of the main market trends linked to energy transition and digital transformation and at supporting the group’s growth ambitions.