FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - A positive analyst commentary by the bank Morgan Stanley gave fresh impetus to the recovery of Zalando shares on Friday. The shares, which have been badly battered in recent months, rose by 4.5 percent to 19.17 euros in the morning at the top of the leading German index Dax. The Dax itself rose by 0.8 percent and approached its record high.

Morgan Stanley analyst Miriam Josiah upgraded the shares from "equal-weight" to "overweight" with an unchanged target price of EUR 26. The expert expects the online fashion retailer to become one of the biggest market share winners in terms of sales as soon as the high inflation subsides. In 2024, the main focus will be on sales growth. As soon as this occurs, profit margins will benefit - especially for retailers, whose customers will then opt for more expensive clothing again.

The high inflation rates in 2022 and 2023 will noticeably dampen people's buying mood. This and increasing low-cost competition from China pushed the Zalando share price down. In 2023, the shares were at the bottom of the leading German index with an annual loss of a good 35%; in 2022, they were second to last with a loss of more than half.

And the share price initially failed to find a foothold in 2024 too. It was not until mid-January and a record low below EUR 16 that the share price recovered. Despite the recent recovery, the share price is still down by almost 11% in the still young Borsen year, while the DAX has already gained one and a half percent.

For comparison: when Borsen went public in fall 2014, the shares were issued at 21.50 euros. During the coronavirus boom - when clothing and other items were mainly bought online - the share price had risen to a record high of almost 106 euros in mid-2021.

Analysts are largely optimistic at the current price level. According to data from the Bloomberg news agency, there are 22 positive and only 3 negative recommendations, with 8 neutral votes. The average target price is EUR 31./mis/tih/stk