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Corona seems so far away. Three and a half years have passed since the stock markets crashed in March 2020 as a result of lockdowns. And yet Corona approached again. Corona subvariant BA.2.86, also called Pirola, is currently being observed and may lead to another wave of the disease. But there is no longer anything to fear from lockdowns or stock market crashes.
But this reminds stockbrokers once again that anyone who bought Swiss stocks on March 16, 2020, or a few weeks later, can expect big price increases today. These five Swiss stocks have achieved the biggest ever price increase since the Corona low point.
Fifth place: Aryzta
Shares of bakery products group Aryzta have increased by 252 percent since mid-March 2020. This makes the company Schlieren ZH one of the biggest price winners during this period.
Aryzta’s best-known products are Hiestand-Gipfeli and Swiss McDonald’s rolls. Since the beginning of the year alone, the bakery products company’s shares have gained 25 percent in value. The share price temporarily hit an almost five-year high at the beginning of May and has fallen slightly since then.
Former crisis company Aryzta managed to increase its sales for the first time in several years in the 2021/22 financial year (which will end at the end of July). Having achieved double-digit growth for the sixth consecutive quarter this year, the company has made a comeback and put the Corona crisis behind once and for all. The sale of the North American business in 2021 was also a significant milestone.
Aryzta expects sales of over 2 billion euros and EBITDA margins of over 14.5 percent in 2025. This will be approximately 50 percent more than last year. Analysts predict that, as the market leader, Aryzta has evolved into a cash flow generator that creates high value for shareholders. However, high raw material costs will likely remain a problem.
On average, analysts see an upside potential of almost 30 percent for the stock from its current level. The market position seems to favor the bakery group.
Fourth place: Swissquote
Online bank Swissquote missed the podium among the biggest price winners since the lockdown. The stock is up 284 percent in three and a half years.
The online broker was one of the beneficiaries of the Corona crisis because people spent more time at home in front of their computers due to the quarantine and therefore became more interested in the stock markets, which recovered strongly after March 2020. This boom has subsided, but today the bank benefits from rising interest rates.
The majority of growth in the first half of 2023 came from non-transaction-based revenues such as net interest income and custody fees. Trading activity on the platform is still significantly lower than during peak times.
In mid-July, the share almost reached the record high at the end of 2021, but has since fallen 16 percent. Analysts had been hoping for a bit more improvement from the half-year figures, particularly for client assets and commission business.
Analysts consider the online bank’s shares at an average price of 220 francs; This corresponds to an increase of approximately 29 percent compared to the current level and a record.
Third place: Meier Tobler
Air conditioning expert Meier Tobler came third. The company has managed to more than triple its share price since the lockdown (+332 percent).
Meier Tobler has been benefiting from the growing demand for heat pumps since last year. They are an ecological alternative when it comes to heating renovation.
The title rose from 15 francs at the beginning of 2022 to almost 55 francs in July 2023. Even though the company delivered good half-year figures at the end of July, the price fell. This is due to the weakening outlook of the construction industry. The stock has been stable at a weak level for about five weeks.
But the prospects in the medium and long term look good: The energy transition is being pushed forward and almost a million buildings in Switzerland are still heated with fossil fuels. Meier Tobler also expects significant operational improvements from the new service center to be completed soon.
On average, analysts see the potential for a 22 percent share to rise to 52 francs.
Second row: Dottikon
Dottikon settled into second place, just ahead of Meier Tobler. Shares of the Aargau chemical company have increased by 340 percent since March 2020.
The company’s shares, owned by its main shareholder and CEO Markus Blocher, have suffered a real shake-up due to the corona epidemic, like other Swiss pharmaceutical suppliers. The share, which was at 50 francs in March 2020, rose to 370 francs just a year and a half later. The title is currently trading again at 220 francs. But this is still twice the share value at the beginning of 2020.
Analysts at Zürcher Kantonalbank predict that sales will quadruple over the next decade. In the future, the chemical company should benefit, on the one hand, from the shift of production to the West and, on the other hand, from the trend towards injectable active ingredients.
Investment fund “Saraselect” recently entered Dottikon, taking advantage of the almost 20 percent price drop since mid-June. But Blocher’s attempt to significantly increase the number of publicly traded shares was somewhat disturbing. Blocher finally managed to sell 2.4 percent of the outstanding and previously privately held Dottikon shares to investors in mid-June. However, the plan was to allocate up to 7.6 percent of outstanding shares.
On average, analysts no longer see any upside potential for the stock. The average price target for Dottikon is 220.50 francs at the current value of the stock.
First place: Meyer Burger
Meyer Burger came first. The solar company has managed to more than quadruple its share value since the lockdown (+418 percent).
But the rapid rise in shares shouldn’t obscure the fact that Meyer Burger has an extremely painful history and has burned through tremendous shareholder value. The stock’s record high of 5.90 francs in May 2012 is proof of this. Since the Corona low the share reached its maximum value of 0.71 francs (at the end of February this year).
But lately, Meyer Burger shares have been mostly down. Since the profit warning in mid-July and the abandonment of profit forecasts for the full year, the solar producer has lost more than 40 percent of its stock market value. Meyer Burger complains about the “lack of fair market conditions” due to the oversupply of Chinese solar modules.
This is something that Norwegian rival Norsun also pointed out recently. Norsun also suffers from Chinese low-cost suppliers literally flooding the European market with cheap modules. According to Norsun’s own information, they are even forced to suspend production at their headquarters until the end of the year, as Cash Insider reported on Monday. Higher interest rates also have a negative effect: They extend the time it takes to reach the break-even point for new investments in solar installations.
Due to Chinese competition in Europe and higher state financing, Meyer Burger is increasingly focusing on the US and expanding its capacity there: EBITDA margins of 25 percent and higher are expected to be achieved for the US business from 2025.
The majority of analysts expect a lot from this reorganization. The average price target of 70 cents is almost twice the current share value. The stock is likely to continue to be volatile and will remain a risky investment.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
