Berenberg announced on Tuesday that it had downgraded its recommendation on Verallia from 'buy' to 'hold', with a price target reduced from 45 to 42 euros, believing that it was time to 'pause' after the stock's recent rise.

The analyst points out that, since he raised his recommendation to 'buy' in 2020, the stock has generated a total return (including dividend) of 60%, thanks in particular to 'impressive' organic growth.

However, the intermediary expects the market to focus more on the normalization of profit margins and a tougher competitive environment.

While Berenberg continues to like the company and its 'attractive' stock market valuation, it considers the consensus forecast for 2024 to be over-ambitious, with forecasts some 15% below consensus - a gap it considers too wide to justify a buy recommendation on the stock.

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