JPMorgan upgrades Bridgepoint to ‘overweight’

JPMorgan Cazenove upgraded Bridgepoint on Tuesday to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ as it took a look at European private markets asset managers.

The bank said that despite macroeconomic worries, it remains constructive on the European private markets asset managers and expects Federal Reserve and European Central Bank rate cuts to drive higher volumes of transactions, in particular exits, resulting in higher carried interest and investment income and a better fundraising momentum.

JPM’s "top pick" is EQT, followed by ICG, Petershill and Bridgepoint.

The bank said it was raising its adjusted earnings per share estimates for Bridgepoint by 4% in 2025 and 15% in 2027, driven by higher management fees. The target price was lifted to 358p from 259p.

"The current low circa 11x 2026E P/E is an attractive entry point, with the shares offering upside both from earnings growth and rerating potential," it said.

In the same note, JPM downgraded Antin to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’, saying it sees a slower deployment in Mid Cap I driving earnings downgrades for next year.

"We see Antin’s dependence on a single asset class and flagship fund as less attractive, and considering a slower deployment pace than peers, we see higher execution risk around Antin’s fundraising."

JPM cut its price target on Antin to €14.90 from €16.50.

At 1325 BST, Bridgepoint shares were up 4.1% at 286.28p.