Finmeccanica initiated with "neutral"

10/18/04 - Banc of America

NEW YORK, October 18 (newratings.com) - Analyst Nick Fothergill of Banc of America Securities initiates coverage of Finmeccanica (FMN-EUR) with a "neutral" rating. The target price is set to €0.61.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that Finmeccanica is an Italy-based diversified aerospace & defense company, which holds a 17% stake in ST Microelectronics. The visibility into Finmeccanica's long term EPS growth is low, given the company's limited market share growth. The company is likely to pursue an acquisition in the near term due to its excess cash of €4.1 billion, the analyst adds.