First Berlin Maintains Verve Group SE's Buy Rating Despite Lowered Target

First Berlin Equity Research has updated its analysis of Verve Group SE, maintaining a "Buy" rating while reducing the price target from €4.50 to €4.00. The research, led by analyst Ellis Acklin, highlights Verve's Q2 results that closely aligned with predictions. Despite this, the outlook for the second half of the year is more reserved. Verve's like-for-like revenue increased by 6.5% year over year, reaching €152 million, and its AEBITDA rose 2% to €30 million. However, organic growth of 3.5% fell short of company expectations, as advertisers delayed spending.

The gross margin showed improvement, climbing from 33% to 40% compared to the previous year. While third-quarter performance has seen gains, the target for the second half has become more demanding, and existing guidance now seems less conservative. As a result, First Berlin has adjusted its forecast towards the lower range and views the midpoint as an optimistic scenario. The revised target price indicates a potential upside of 269%.