The share price ended the day in the green, benefiting from the publication of several positive analyses.
Stifel has reaffirmed its 'buy' recommendation on Danone, with an adjusted target price of €70 to €72, following the food group's announcement that organic growth remained strong in the first quarter.
'The EDP division should rebound as the brand's momentum continues to unfold, and the upcoming investor day should provide an additional trigger for the share, in our view', the broker believes.
Stifel also sees a possible target increase by Danone on the occasion of its investor day scheduled for June, or on the occasion of the publication of its results for the first half of 2024.
UBS also confirms its Buy recommendation on the stock, with an unchanged target price of E72, representing a potential upside of 22% following the announcement of sales for Q1 2024.
The group posted sales of €6.79 billion, down 2.5% due to strongly negative scope (-5%) and currency (-3.2%) effects.
' A solid, broad-based performance in the first quarter, demonstrating the Group's progress and signalling further improvement over the coming quarters. The way is clear for operating EBIT growth of +7%' says UBS.
' Danone made a strong impression in the first quarter, with an improvement in gross operating margin (LFL) thanks to better volume/mix and higher prices ' adds the analyst firm.
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Danone is one the world leading food-processing groups. Net sales break down by family of products as follows:
- dairy products and plant products (51.9%; No. 1 worldwide): fresh fermented milk products, creams, products and drinks of plant origin (based in particular on soya, almond, hazelnut, rice, oats and coconut);
- specialized nutrition products (30.8%): baby foods (No. 1 worldwide; foods for infants and young children in addition to breastfeeding) and medical nutrition products (No. 2 in Europe; foods for people suffering from certain pathologies or people weakened by age);
- bottled water (17.3%; No. 2 worldwide): natural water, aromatized water or enriched in vitamins (brands Evian, Volvic, Badoit, Aqua, etc.).
At the end of 2023, the group had more than 174 production sites throughout the world.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (8.4%), Europe (25.5%), North America (25%), China/Japan/Australia/New Zealand (12.7%), Latin America (10.1%) and other (18.3%).
DANONE 
