Goldman Sachs upgrades IMI to ‘buy’

Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of engineer IMI on Wednesday to ‘buy’ from neutral’ and lifted the price target to 2,020p from 1,780p, saying it sees around 30% upside versus 17% for the sector.

The bank said it sees IMI as a beneficiary of both a sustained capex super-cycle as well as a potential recovery in short-cycle industrial production, where recent ISM manufacturing PMIs suggest inventories may be approaching a trough.

"Our more optimistic view on demand across Critical and Hydronic Engineering supports FY25e sales/EPS forecasts that are circa 2%/5% above consensus," it said.

"Moreover, IMI’s shares have historically outperformed during the trough-to-peak phase of the manufacturing PMI cycle, and we see scope for the shares to outperform over the next 12 months."

At 1035 GMT, the shares were up 4.6% at 1,623p.