FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Gute Quartalszahlen und eine zuversichtliche Prognose haben die Aktien von Sartorius am Freitag kräftig angetrieben. They gained more than 12 percent at times and were still up 9.5 percent at 330.70 euros by midday. This made the shares of the pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment manufacturer the front-runner in the DAX and took them to a high since the beginning of January. Außerdem hellte sich das Chartbild mit dem Sprung über mehrere wichtige Trendlinien spürbar auf.

Nach dem schwachen vergangenen Jahr will Sartorius 2024 wieder zu mehr Wachstum zurückkehren. Sales revenue is expected to grow in the mid to upper single-digit percentage range. Obendrein soll die Profitabilität gemessen an der operativen Ertragsmarge wieder auf etwas über 30 Prozent steigen.

The outlook is therefore better than expected and now offers upside potential for consensus estimates, wrote JPMorgan analyst Richard Vosser in an initial reaction. He also praised the medium-term forecast: the operating profit margin is expected to climb to around 34 percent by 2028. Sartorius had previously targeted this figure for 2025, but the weakness in demand is likely to delay the original plans.

In view of the low expectations on the market, the figures for the past quarter were also strong, commented Odysseas Manesiotis from the private bank Berenberg. Der Umsatz und das um Sondereffekte bereinigte Ergebnis vor Steuern, Zinsen und Abschreibungen (Ebitda) hätten seine Erwartungen übertroffen. The balance sheet was not only less dramatic, but even delivered positive surprises. Particularly in view of the strong growth in orders in the final quarter compared to the previous quarter, the uncertainty is easing.

In the view of Jefferies analyst James Vane-Tempest, the ratio of order intake to sales revenue at the end of the year is particularly encouraging. He considers Sartorius' statements on the further normalization of inventories to be conservative. The expert expects further details in the conference call on the quarterly results.

Other sector stocks also benefited from the improved sentiment at Sartorius. Shares in the chemicals and pharmaceuticals group Merck KGaA recently rose by 4.9% in the Dax; the Darmstadt-based company has its own laboratory supply division. In the MDax, Gerresheimer rose by 2.2 percent. The packaging specialist does a lot of business with the pharmaceutical industry./niw/tav/jha/