Publicis Groupe shares fall 2.5% despite a target raised by JP Morgan
The communications group slipped in a sharply lower CAC 40, after a week of gains. Two brokerage firms revised their price targets in opposite directions, and the stock retains a clear advantage over its long-term benchmarks.
A pullback that leaves the stock above its three moving averages
The Publicis Groupe share is down 2.72% at €102.05 intraday, ranking 36th in a CAC 40 that is falling 1.43%. The stock nevertheless gained 2.69% over the week and 8.36% over the month.
After crossing €103.75 on Wednesday, it has fallen back below that level and is now trading near its 20-day moving average (€101.10), which it exceeds by 0.94%.
The gap is wider with the 50-day moving average (€98.95, +3.13%) and especially the 200-day moving average (€87.21, +17.02%).
The MACD remains positive and the RSI at 55 signals neither excess nor exhaustion, so this session looks more like a breather than a break in the trend. The resistance level at €104.85 remains the nearest upper reference point.
JP Morgan and UBS diverge on the group's price target
The two opinions published this week point in opposite directions. On Thursday, UBS lowered its target from €109 to €100 and downgraded its rating from buy to hold, a target now slightly below the share price. On Friday, JP Morgan raised its target from €133 to €145 with an overweight rating, representing an upside of about 42% compared with €102.05.
The gap between the two targets exceeds €40, which illustrates the current dispersion of analyst opinions on the stock. On the business side, the group completed the acquisition of LiveRamp in early November. The stock is quoted at 4.75% on the 10-year OAT, in a Paris market weighed down by tension over French debt and the decline in technology stocks.
