7 stories mentioning EZJ.L
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Deutsche Bank on Wednesday upgraded British budget airline easyJet (EZJ.L) to hold from sell and raised its price target to 5.40 pounds sterling from 3.40 pounds.(covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www..com/contact-us)
London's FTSE 100 closed 0.68% lower on Monday after the US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes over the weekend, while Britain's manufacturing activity accelerated to a four-year high on conflict-driven stockpiling.The US Central Command said it "conducted self-defense strikes" on Iranian radar and command and control sites in response to "aggressive Iranian actions," while Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched a retaliatory attack against an air base used by US forces. Iranian negotiators also plan to suspend talks with their US counterparts in protest of Israeli aggression in Lebanon, Bloomberg News reported, citing a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.Back home and on the economic front, the final S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI stood at 53.9 in May, against the prior month's 53.7. The seventh consecutive growth came as production volumes expanded at the fastest rate in three months despite persistent headwinds, including rising prices and supply chain pressures."The sustainability of the upturn remains in doubt, however. The recent upturn in new order intakes that is driving the expansion in output is heavily reliant on both manufacturers and their clients front-loading purchases to mitigate expected war-related price increases and supply chain disruption. This bounce will fade once customers have built up sufficient safety stocks," S&P Global Market Intelligence director Rob Dobson said.Meanwhile, the annual growth rate of house prices in the UK slowed to 1.7% in May from 3% earlier, according to data from the Nationwide Building Society. The average price of houses was 278,024 pounds sterling, down from 278,880 pounds a month ago."Given the uncertainty caused by developments in the Middle East and the subsequent rise in energy prices and market interest rates, some loss of momentum was to be expected. Indeed, consumer confidence has weakened noticeably since the start of the conflict, with GfK's headline index falling to its lowest level since late‑2023 in April, with only a marginal increase in May," Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner said."The housing market has not fallen off a cliff, but it is clearly looking over the edge," RBC Capital Markets said. "The good news, and there is some, is that the UK entered this shock in reasonable shape: household debt is at a two-decade low relative to income, the economy grew a healthy 0.6% in Q1, and mortgage rates, while rising, are still well below the 2023 peaks. We would not yet call this the beginning of a sustained downturn. UK house prices may have hit the brakes in May, but the engine has not yet stalled."In corporate news, easyJet (EZJ.L) signaled that its board will gauge a takeover offer from US-based Castlelake after the alternative investment firm disclosed that it is in the early stages of evaluating a potential bid for the British budget airline. The company, which is yet to receive a buyout proposal from or hold any discussions with Castlelake, traded 10.03% higher at close.
EasyJet (EZJ.L) signaled that its board will gauge a takeover offer from US-based Castlelake after the alternative investment firm disclosed that it is in the early stages of evaluating a potential bid for the British budget airline.The company, which is yet to receive a buyout proposal from or hold any discussions with Castlelake, traded 10% higher in London early Monday.While the low-cost carrier is open to examine any move that could maximize shareholder value, it noted the "highly opportunistic timing" of a potential bid, given its share price is temporarily depressed due to the war in the Middle East. The board also emphasized that any offer should be deliverable amid "considerable" regulatory, financial, and other execution challenges associated with a potential takeover."easyJet is in a position of strength, underpinned by an investment grade balance sheet with a net cash position, alongside strong customer satisfaction and high employee engagement. The Board remains highly confident in easyJet's strategy and its ability to deliver attractive long-term value for shareholders. The Company remains focused on executing its medium-term target of delivering greater than GBP1 billion profit before tax," easyJet said Monday.RBC Capital Markets said European Union/UK ownership rules could make a potential takeover of easyJet by Castlelake difficult or worse. "It is too early to say if an acquired easyJet could impact the competitive backdrop in Europe. The grounds for optimism for competitors could be that some of easyJet's fleet may end up deployed elsewhere. We wouldn't expect an acquired easyJet to increase capacity, particularly given industry-wide constraints on aircraft availability," analysts wrote in a quick-take note.Castlelake confirmed May 29 that it was eyeing easyJet on behalf of certain funds or affiliates for which it serves as investment manager, in response to media speculation. It holds a 2.14% stake in easyJet and would be required under takeover rules to offer at least 4.0323 pounds sterling per share. A firm bid must be placed by June 26 or Castlelake must walk away.
Goodbody on Tuesday reduced the price target for British low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ.L) to 3.40 pounds sterling from 3.70 pounds and affirmed its hold rating.(covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www..com/contact-us)
Italy's antitrust authority launched an investigation into British low-cost airline easyJet (EZJ.L) over a potential lack of transparency in baggage pricing.The Italian Competition Authority, or AGCM, on Tuesday said easyJet provides only the average price for check-in baggage and sports equipment on round trips, and sets bundled purchases as the default option, potentially misleading customers who wanted the service for only one leg of their journey.To buy the service for only half the trip, customers would need to take steps to override easyJet's default option, the watchdog noted, adding that the probe was initiated because easyJet did not change its practices after being called out on the matter.The investigation follows the AGCM's broader scrutiny into the travel industry for potentially "misleading and aggressive" commercial practices. Most recently, online travel agency eDreams Odigeo (EDR.MC) was imposed a 9 million-euro penalty in February for using "deceptive" design strategies and manipulative techniques to pressure consumers into signing up for its "eDreams Prime" subscription service.The regulator also fined Irish budget airline Ryanair (RYA.IR) 255.8 million euros in December 2025 for complicating the process for travel agencies to purchase flights through its website.Meanwhile, another low-cost airline, Wizz Air (WIZZ.L), was charged 500,000 euros by the AGCM in November 2025 for deceptive and ambiguous advertising of its "All You Can Fly" annual subscription.
AlphaValue/Baader Europe on Monday downgraded British budget airline easyJet (EZJ.L) to add from buy and increased its price target to 4.63 pounds sterling from 4.62 pounds.(covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www..com/contact-us)
Bernstein on Monday downgraded British airline easyJet (EZJ.L) to market perform from outperform and decreased the price target to 4.25 pounds sterling from 5.10 pounds.(covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www..com/contact-us)