BE Semiconductor Industries shares rose on Monday after Berenberg upgraded the Dutch chip-equipment maker to Buy from Hold, citing a pullback that created an entry point. The stock traded around €206 on Lang & Schwarz at 07:53 CET, up 1.2% on the session, with the broker keeping its €240 price target intact.
The upgrade arrives two weeks after Besi reported second-quarter results that showed revenue jumping 68.7% year-over-year to €249.9 million and net income more than doubling to €89 million. Orders surged 128.8% to €292.9 million, with AI-related system orders accounting for roughly 60% of first-half bookings. Gross margin expanded to 65.7% from 63.3% a quarter earlier, helped by a richer product mix.
Berenberg analyst Trion Reid noted that Besi has lost more than a third of its value from recent highs, prompting a reassessment. He projects average annual revenue growth of at least 24% through 2030 with gross margins near 65%, and highlighted the company's shareholder-friendly capital return policy. Reid also flagged two risks: the stock's tendency to trade on sentiment rather than fundamentals, and the key-person dependency on 72-year-old CEO Richard Blickman, who has led the company for 31 years.