FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Swiss Market Index Recovers; Nestlé, Galderma Shares Rise

-- The Swiss Market Index broke its three-day losing streak on Thursday, closing 1.38% in the green, amid a busy day of corporate financial updates and private sector data releases.

Nestlé (NESN.SW) delivered an organic sales growth of 3.5% year over year in the first quarter, including a negative impact of 90 basis points from the precautionary recall of batches of its infant formula products globally, with total group sales reaching 21.32 billion francs. Real internal growth came in at 1.2% over the period. The consumer goods giant's stock added 5.89% at closing.

"A widespread, RIG led beat underpins maintained guidance (with consensus currently at the bottom of the range for sales growth guidance). It is good to see coffee back on song after last year's price squeeze, with RIG of 3.5% and organic sales growth of 9.3%," RBC Capital Markets said in a quick take note, describing the results as "impressive."

Galderma Group (GALD.SW) also saw its shares rise 6.60% as it reported a "strong" start to the year, with net sales climbing to $1.47 billion in the first quarter from the year-ago $1.13 billion. For full-year 2026, the dermatology company reaffirmed its guidance of net sales growth between 17% and 20% at constant currency, expecting its exposure to US tariffs to remain "manageable."

Other Switzerland-listed heavyweights that posted trading updates included pharmaceutical major Roche (RO.SW), testing and certification company SGS (SGSN.SW), and escalators and elevators manufacturer Schindler (SCHP.SW).

On the macroeconomic front, Switzerland signed an investment protection agreement with Saudi Arabia during Swiss President Guy Parmelin's official visit to the Middle Eastern country. The deal is set to become effective following completion of internal approval procedures in both countries.

Zooming out to the euro area, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global Flash Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index fell to a 17-month low of 48.6 in April from 50.7 in March. The latest reading marks the first time the index dropped below the neutral 50 threshold in 16 months.

Related Articles

Equities

Petro Rabigh Emerges From Loss in Q1; Revenue Grows

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (SASE:2380), d/b/a Petro Rabigh, said Sunday it swung back to profit in the first quarter of 2026, while revenue increased year over year.Net profit attributable to shareholders of the issuer for the three months ended March 31 was 1.47 billion Saudi riyals, compared with the attributable loss of 691 million riyals earlier. EPS moved to 0.88 riyal from a loss per share of 0.41 riyal.The Tadawul-listed oil refining and petrochemical company's revenue was 14.85 billion riyals, compared with 11.21 billion riyals a year ago.

$SASE:2380
Research

Research Alert: CFRA Keeps Buy Opinion On Shares Of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc.

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We trim our 12-month target price by $8 to $155, valuing HIG shares at 11.3x our 2026 operating EPS estimate of $13.75 (cut by $0.45) and at 10.6x our 2027 EPS estimate of $14.65 (cut by $0.30), vs. the shares' one-year average forward multiple of 10.3x and peer average of 13x. Q1 EPS of $3.09 vs. $2.20 a year ago missed our $3.60 estimate and $3.39 consensus view. Operating revenue growth of 6.2% was in line with our 6%-10% forecast, amid 5.3% earned premium growth, 13% higher net investment income, and 7.9% fee revenue growth. Q1 written premium growth of 4% and full-year 2025 growth of 7% bode well for 2026 revenue trends as premiums are earned. Underwriting results improved significantly, with Personal Lines combined ratio improving to 87.7% from 106.1% and underlying combined ratio to 85.0% from 89.7%. Business Insurance combined ratio was stable at 94.8%. Weighing the Q1 EPS miss with HIG's decent top-line growth and discounted valuation to peers, we view the shares as undervalued.

$HIG
Research

Research Alert: CFRA Keeps Strong Buy Opinion On Shares Of Baker Hughes

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We raise our 12-month target price by $14 to $82, reflecting a combination of our sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) and DCF models. For our SOTP model, we presume the oilfield services business (about 50% of BKR's franchise) to be valued at about 10x projected 2027 EBITDA (in line with major peers) and its industrial energy technology business (the other 50%) valued at 14x projected 2027 EBITDA (in line with the peer median). This blended approach, yielding a 12x multiple, implies a value of $73 per share. Meanwhile, our DCF model, using medium-term free cash flow growth of 5% per year, terminal growth of 2.5%, discounted at a WACC of 6.3%, yields intrinsic value of $91 per share. We cut our 2026 EPS estimate by $0.47 to $2.48, but we raise 2027's by $0.07 to $3.24. We acknowledge that the oilfield services business is likely to struggle in 2026 owing to the U.S.-Iran conflict, but the IET business appears quite robust and likely to be a source of both accelerating revenue growth and margins.

$BKR