Berenberg Says 'Unenthusiastic' About BASF's Evonik Pursuit; Hold Rating Kept

11:36 AM EDT, 10/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg maintained BASF (BAS.F) at hold, while taking a dim view of the German chemicals company's pursuit of its peer Evonik Industries (EVK.F). "We are unenthusiastic about BASF's pursuit of Evonik, an approach arguably at odds with both its scepticism towards current proposals for heightened European protectionism and its desire to simplify its portfolio. That said, Evonik does not appear to be in a hurry to engage despite methionine capacity headwinds likely to weigh on its 2027 earnings," according to a Thursday note. Analysts also expect BASF's earnings to "decline slightly" in 2027, driven by higher energy costs, softer demand and the end of the shortage economics seen in upstream chemicals in the second quarter of 2026. "On the positive side, we suspect shares would respond well to any headlines on a build-out of the potentially protectionist measures in the European Critical Chemicals Alliance, even if we believe the risk of Chinese retaliation is often overlooked in this debate," the research firm added. Berenberg raised its EPS forecasts for 2026 to 2028 to reflect "better" chemicals pricing, especially in the materials segment. Its sales and EBIT projections also increased for the three-year period. The stock's price target was increased to 51.50 euros from 50 euros.