(new version including current share prices)

FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The shares of Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) fell on Tuesday after initially strong gains. The key figures and the slightly higher than expected annual targets of the dialysis specialist ultimately failed to convince the market. In fact, analysts and traders criticized various aspects of the figures and the statements made by management during the conference call. Among other things, it was said that the operating margin was only convincing at first glance.

After the FMC share price rose to 41.62 euros in the morning - its highest level since the end of September - the gains quickly dried up completely. The largely sideways moving 200-day line at just over 40 euros, which was breached for the first time since October 2023, was immediately broken again. It indicates the longer-term trend for investors interested in chart technology and is currently pointing slightly downwards.

In the afternoon, FMC shares fell by 6.9% to EUR 36.75, bringing them to the bottom of the MDax, the index for mid-caps. In the still young year 2024, a loss of just over three percent is now on the books. The shares of major shareholder Fresenius in the Dax, which had also risen in early trading, extended their losses and recently fell by 2.5 percent to 26.01 euros.

According to analysts, FMC slightly exceeded its own targets for 2023 and is also slightly above expectations with the target ranges for sales and operating profit in 2024, but this was ultimately not enough. Analyst Harald Hof from AlsterResearch pointed to the fact that the operating margin was only better than expected at first glance as the main reason for the significant losses. "However, significant one-off effects had a positive impact here, which the market is only now really realizing," he said.

Two other experts also referred to the conference call as the draw. "It was said in the call that the first quarter would be somewhat weaker," said the trader, "even if FMC is confident that it will be able to make up for this over the course of the year."

Market expert Andreas Lipkow emphasized that FMC had not become more specific about the company's growth targets during the conference call. Bernstein analyst Lisa Bedell Clive had already criticized this in her comparison with Davita this morning and recalled that the FMC share had received advance praise from the US competitor's figures around a week ago. Davita had reported slight adjusted growth in treatments on February 13 and forecast an increase in patient numbers of one to two percent for 2024.

FMC, on the other hand, reported adjusted treatment growth at the previous year's level for the fourth quarter. However, specific growth targets for the new year were not mentioned, Bedell Clive had written, calling this "probably an important point during the conference call".

According to the Bernstein analyst, FMC presented a neutral set of figures and outlook overall, especially as the annual targets were largely in line with the average analyst estimates./ck/mis