FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Rheinmetall shares attracted investors in droves on Monday with their promotion to the premier stock market league. On their first day of trading on the Dax, the shares of the defense contractor and automotive supplier topped the German benchmark index, gaining 4.2 percent to 247 euros. There, they replace the shares of dialysis specialist FMC, which as of this Monday will be found in the MDax, the index of mid-sized stocks.

Index changes are particularly important for funds that replicate indices in real terms (physically replicating ETFs). These funds must then be rebalanced and rebalanced accordingly, which can have an impact on share prices.

Positive impetus was also provided by new analyst studies with confirmed buy recommendations. The growing demand for military equipment and further increases in defense spending in Germany and other NATO countries offer attractive medium-term potential for the company, explained analyst Holger Schmidt from DZ Bank. He called the outlook for 2023 conservative and sees upside to his estimates once the planned acquisition of Spanish munitions manufacturer Expal Systems is approved.

Analyst David Perry of U.S. bank JPMorgan raised his price target for Rheinmetall from €265 to €310 and left his rating at "overweight." Rheinmetall is likely to be the main beneficiary of the lavish ammunition deliveries to Ukraine, the expert believes. The rise in the Dax should also give the share price a boost, as this would make the stock more interesting again for certain investors.

With a price jump of around 32 percent, Rheinmetall shares are clearly the best Dax stock in the still rather short course of the year. Since the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, the company's share price has risen by around one and a half times./edh/ag/stk